Revelations
by natalie s
Summary: A visitor arrives on Enterprise with a surprising connection to one of the crew. The revelation they bring causes Enterprise to embark on a new mission against an old and dangerous enemy. Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note

This is my first fan fiction story, so I would appreciate your reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own Enterprise - sadly. If I did it would definatly not have been cancelled after four seasons, it wouldn't have ended with that awful finale...continues ranting.

Rating PG-13

Set after Demons and Terra Prime.

Summary: A new visitor arrives on Enterprise with a surprising connection to one of the crew. The revelation they bring causes Enterprise to embark on a new mission against an old and dangerous enemy. (Trip/T'Pol)

* * *

Chapter 1 

Weapons fire erupted around the facility; their target narrowly avoided being hit. He ducked as another array of phaser fire shot towards him, this time missing him by a hairs breath. He knew he had to keep going; otherwise they would capture him again. He had promised himself that was not going to happen, he would die before that!

He gasped as the sudden running had jarred his already painful injury. His gaze travelled downwards, as his hazel eyes locked upon his gaping chest wound, which was now spilling vital liquid. He knew that quite soon dying would really become a reality. Whether it was his pursuers, or his injury that killed him, would be decided within the next few minutes.

He stopped suddenly, and peered around a corner. His gaze only found two guards, and his lips upturned into a slight smile. _I can take them out, even in this state! _He murmured to himself. Running at them he took them by surprise, and after a few swift actions, they were lying unconscious on the floor. Taking their weapons, he raced down the corridor, the pain in his chest being put to the back of his mind. He had to escape to reveal to everyone what he had found. He needed to protect his family, his people; otherwise the last forty years had been for nothing!

He racked his brain in an attempt to remember where he was, he realised he was getting closer to their shuttle bay, he could make it! That thought spurred him on, giving him the extra strength he needed to keep going. Passing through several passageways, he took note of the guard's absence. His logical mind processed this, and came up with the only rational answer; his earlier distraction had worked.

Reaching his destination, his shoulders dropped in visible relief. He passed through the narrow doors, entering the room. Moving immediately over to the launch bay controls, he activated the outer doors. They began to part; the narrow outline of outside giving him renewed hope. He waited until they had full opened, the mere minutes it took feeling like an eternity. The soft thud that reverberated through the room indicated that they had completely opened, and he fired his weapon at the controls, where they erupted in sparks. Hopefully they would now be damaged enough to prevent anyone from stopping him.

He moved over to one of the smaller crafts in the shuttle bay, it looked like it had been through a war, but it served his purpose. Overwriting the door controls, he gained an entrance to the inside. He crawled over to the crafts main computer, his body weakening with every inch he moved. Submerging himself underneath the main computer system, his dexterous fingers moved over the numerous wires. His brow gleamed with beads of sweat, the effort it was taking clearly visible. Clenching his jaw, his mind swam, and his face became an even paler, pasty completion. His focus didn't waver though, his mind remaining entirely on the job at hand. Within the next agonising minutes the shuttle around him abruptly came to life. He let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding, and pulled himself upwards, collapsing onto the seat.

His fingers danced across the controls, and the craft began to hover over the ground. Setting a flight plan into the computer memory, he activated the autopilot. His desired destination taking him far away from the facility. The small craft flew through the outer hatch doors, departing from the facility. He said a silent prayer, hoping that he had completely deactivated their weaponry. Thankfully, it seemed luck was on his side today.

Entering the blackness of deep space, he took several laboured breaths, and set a distress signal to activate when a 'friendly' ship entered the vicinity. With his last ounce of strength, he placed himself in a healing trance. He only hoped someone would find him…. Before it was too late.

* * *

The golden flame flickered, illuminating the expressionless face of the Vulcan who sat before it. Taking a calming breath T'Pol opened her eyes; her meditation completed for this evening, and extinguished the candle. She rose from the spot on the floor, and walked over to her desk, content to complete her outstanding work in an efficient Vulcan fashion. As she was about to sit her com sounded, pushing the necessary buttons, she activated it, and Captain Archer's voice met her ears. 

"Good evening T'Pol, I hope I haven't disturbed you".

"Not at all captain, how can I help you?" she responded in a voice, as monotone as ever.

"Your assistance is needed on the bridge; I'll explain when you get here," the Captain responded.

Acknowledging T'Pol changed into something more suitable. She didn't believe going to the bridge in her meditation clothes was entirely appropriate; however the illogical thought of what Commander Tucker would think crossed her mind. Quelling her thoughts about a certain engineer, she changed, and within minutes she was on the bridge.

As she arrived, she was met by the rest of the senior officers. Commander Tucker looking less than happy at having to get up at this late hour, while trying to suppress a yawn. _At least he is sleeping now _she considered. _It is a shame he does not require neuro-pressure anymore though_, a small part of her mused, as she walked over to the group. They were gathered around a station at the back of the bridge, the screen showing Enterprise's position relative to another object. A possible flight plan overlapped the two objects, and other data flowed across the display. She received a nod from Archer, who began.

"Approximately 30 minutes ago we received a distress signal from an unknown vessel, not much smaller than our shuttle pods. As we are the only vessel in the vicinity it is up to us to provide assistance."

"Do we know who they are Cap'n?" asked Trip interested. Enterprise hadn't encountered any other ships, or anything remotely interesting in the past month, and the naturally curious engineer was, along with the rest of the crew, getting bored.

"We have no idea" responded Archer "It appears the ship has been struck by weapons fire, however we scanned and there are no other ships in the vicinity."

"What would anyone be doing this far out, there's nothing much of interest at all in this region, no habitable planets, no notably interesting phenomenon" supplied Mayweather, asking the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Captain if I may suggest, I believe we should go on alert, it does sound rather suspicious and it could be a trap." said Lieutenant Reed, the every pessimistic security officer. He had recently updated the weapons array, and was eagerly awaiting testing it out. His love for blowing things up was common knowledge on the ship, and had led to many jokes at his expense. The majority coming from one Trip Tucker.

"In this case I'm inclined to agree," replied Archer

"T'Pol I want you and Hoshi to work on getting more details, we should be arriving within two hours, and I want as much information as possible."

Nodding everyone moved back to their respective stations, each preparing for their confrontation with the mysterious ship. Hoshi started analysing the distress signal. T'Pol attempted to find where the ship had come from. And Malcolm rechecked the targeting scanners, which controlled the phase cannons, '_well you can't be too careful' _he reminded himself.

Within two hours Enterprise had arrived at their destination. During that time, the crew had found no new information about the ship or its passengers, nothing about its design or why it was so far out here. This had put Archer on edge. He couldn't put his finger on it but something just felt…off. He had learnt to trust his instincts over the years, something that had saved the crew on numerous occasions. Ensuring that he wasn't putting Enterprise into any unnecessary danger, he took longer scanning the region of space they were in. Making sure no other ships were around that could creep up on them. Satisfied they were safe Archer instructed Hoshi to open a channel to the other ship.

"Channel open sir."

Nodding his thanks to his communications officer Archer spoke.

"This is captain archer of the Star ship Enterprise. We are responding to you distress signal can we be of assistance?" he asked

Archer waited for a response, Hoshi shook her head.

"I repeat, this is Captain Archer of the Star ship Enterprise. We are responding to you distress signal, can we be of assistance?"

Again, he received no response. Looking to T'Pol, he awaited the Vulcan's scan of the ship.

"There appears to be only one occupant of the pod." she responded. Lifting an eyebrow she continued, "they appear to be Vulcan."

"Vulcan?" questioned Archer

"Apparently so, and their heart rate is extremely slow." replied the science officer.

Her last comment grabbed Archer's attention. For the moment, he didn't care how the ship had got there or why. When a person's life was in danger the captain could be counted on to do everything in his power to save them. Despite the species, or the potential risk they posed. "Could we dock with the craft?"

"My scans show there is too much damage," was her reply.

"Can we get a transporter lock?"

"I believe so," responded T'Pol. That was all Archer needed

"Beam them up and have Phlox prepare for their arrival."

Nodding T'Pol pressed a sequence of keys.

"Why isn't it working?" Archer questioned.

"There is some sort of field around the craft. I hadn't detected it before; it is trying to prevent a lock."

"Can you break past it?"

"I will try." responded T'Pol

After a few short minutes, the science officer had achieved her goal.

"Transporting." informed T'Pol

"Do we have them?"

"Transport successful"

"Good work, I'll be down in sickbay, Malcolm you're with me, T'Pol you have the bridge." said Archer, as he headed towards the lift.

The doors to sickbay opened as Captain Archer strode in. He walked immediately to Phlox, who was scanning their mysterious visitor. The patient lay flat out on one of Sickbays bed, wearing dark tatty clothing, which stuck to his frame, highlighting his slightly muscular physique. There was a wound on his chest, which looked like it had previously healed, and the surrounding fabric appeared charred. His hair was greying, and his distinct Vulcan ears could be seen. Archer also took note of the several long scars swirled around his arm; it was evident that the Vulcan had clearly seen action.

"Doctor Report," said Archer, more intrigued than ever.

"Oh Captain I'm glad you're here" replied Phlox looking up from his scanner.

"It appears this Vulcan male is in a healing trance, nothing out of the ordinary for the species." Archer looked at Phlox with a vacant look in his eyes.

"It allows them to conserve energy, and helps to heal any injuries they sustain." Phlox supplied. "Did you notice the wound on his chest?" Archer nodded.

"For many other species, Denoblian and Human included, that wound would have no doubt been fatal. However, the healing trance allowed this Vulcan to, in essence shut down all other functions, and concentrate on healing. It is quite an effective survival instinct, but only used in extreme cases."

"Is he ok now?" inquired Archer, he briefly remembered what the Doctor had been talking about, thanks to the time he had had Surak's Katra contained within him.

"My scans show that he's more or less recovered, but they also show some anomalies in his bio readings which are most unusual. In addition, I have found numerous scars on his body, many of which have healed but are consistent with torture. Other than that he is suffering quite severe malnutrition and dehydration, which I am trying to remedy"

That peaked Archers interest, "torture? Unusual bio readings?" Archer's mind swam with different possibilities. "Can you wake him up Dr?" he inquired.

"I believe so captain, however I would like to wait a few hours to stabilise his readings, there's no knowing how long he was in that craft, but his body has suffered because of it."

"Very well," Archer replied. "Contact me when the patient awakes," with that the Captain left sickbay. With even more questions; as to who their strange visitor was, and where exactly he had come from.

Reaching the bridge Archer instructed T'Pol, and Commander Tucker to investigate the ship, which by now had been towed into the launch bay.

"You ever seen this technology before T'Pol?" asked Commander 'Trip' Tucker, as he peered into the interior. The ship wasn't very eye catching, or interesting at all. The interior was entirely grey, with the exception of the occasional red or blue button found upon the key systems. The exterior appeared as if it had been through a war. The rear of the pod had weapon marks scattered around it, and several small dents littered the front of the craft.

"It seems partially similar to an obsolete Vulcan model that went out of service decades ago." T'Pol replied

Climbing into the interior, it became obvious to them that it had not been built for that many people. It also looked as if it would fall apart at any time. The two Commanders immediately started investigating, trying in vain to access the computer core, which appeared to have several layers of encryption. Meaning whatever information it contained was kept away from prying eyes.

Trip shifted around trying to get comfortable, and bumped into the young Vulcan in the process.

"How someone could spend more than a day in here beats me. Why would the Vulcan's build something so small anyway?" Trip asked.

"I believe it was built for speed, and manoeuvrability, not comfort." replied T'Pol, reaching over the commander and pressing a series of buttons on a console behind him. The small seat she was leaning on chose that moment to break, and she was sent falling, not so gracefully into the engineer.

"Comfy there T'Pol?" Trip smirked looking down on her.

T'Pol raised an eyebrow, "Extremely." She retorted. Trip's sarcasm and sense of humour had been rubbing off on her, since the incident with the Orions. She was only using it on the odd occasion, and usually just with Trip, but she found it…. interesting.

Trip helped her to sit up and for the next few hours, the commanders worked effortlessly with each other. Occasionally they were engaging in conversation, and making some progress with the decryption of the computer core, but all the while they constantly aware of the other person's closeness.

"I talked to my parent's last night." said Trip "They asked about how you were, since you know".

Trip was referring to the incident that had happened several months ago, when Enterprise had travelled back to Earth. A rebel group of humans, who had stolen their genetic material, had produced a human Vulcan offspring, Elizabeth. Who, unfortunately had later died. Trip still found it hard to think about her, but had been getting better. He had hoped that one day he, and T'Pol could have another child together. But this child would be healthy, and not the product of flawed genetic engineering. After all, it was possible- look at Lorian. The thought of his son brought a smile to Trip's face. Even though he and T'Pol weren't in a relationship, there were feelings there. Ones he had decided that he needed to act on.

"Are they well?" T'Pol's voice brought him out of his musings.

"What?" responded Trip

"Your parents are they well?" asked T'Pol

"Oh, yes," replied Trip "I told them that you and I were both getting better since…"

Trip left the answer hanging, and T'Pol satisfied with his answer nodded, and continued with her work. It had been difficult for her too dealing with Elizabeth, and added to that the recent death of her mother; Trip had helped a great deal. She did not know in all honesty what she would have done without his support.

The interior of the ship lapsed into silence once again. Trip took a deep breath, his heart pounding. He started the conversation that he had been going over in his head for weeks, he had put it off long enough; he needed to get it off his chest. "T'Pol can I talk to you about us?"…..

* * *

To be continued... 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

T'Pol swiftly turned around, and met Trip's blue eyes. She was not surprised in the slightest that this conversation had come up. She could feel his nervousness cascading inside of him, being transferred to her through their bond, and it was slightly unsettling. Even though she had considered a conversation similar to this herself, many times in fact, she had still not come up with a definite answer.

"Trip…" T'Pol began, the use of his nickname indicating how important this conversation was.

Trip held up his hand to silence her. "T'Pol, please. Just let me say this, and then you can say or do whatever you want, just let me finish, please. I need to say this."

Trip's voice quivered slightly as he spoke, "I know we've been through a lot together, and I don't know what you want in regards to us, but here goes. T'Pol I love you, and I want us to be together. The last few months have only stood to reinforce that, and I do not care what people will think, if people cannot accept it then screw them! You and I are the only ones this concerns. I want us to be together, and I hope you do to."

T'Pol didn't know what to say. She was aware that the engineer had feelings for her, and if she had to admit it she, a Vulcan had feelings for him too. However, she had not realised the extent of her human's emotions, and his words had… surprised her. T'Pol frowned slightly, since when had she been thinking of Trip, as _her _human?

T'Pol looked towards Trip. What was she supposed to say? Declarations of love were not regular occurrences for Vulcan's. What if they were together and then something happened and they separated. Would Trip move to Columbia again? Away from his friends, because of her? What would happen if anyone found out? Terra Prime would no doubt retaliate, would she be putting Trip and everyone else in danger? Could she risk his life, and those around her because of her…_feelings_?

T'Pol hadn't responded for several minutes. To Trip it had felt like hours had passed. After every silent second passed, Trip's heart sank a little more.

"T'Pol," Trip began again; "I didn't want to put pressure on you," he paused as if to consider something. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all." The young engineer continued. For as long as he had been alive, he had always put everyone else's feelings before his own. A sad, but true fact. He had done it when she had married Koss. Trip had stood by and supported her, even though it had nearly killed him. Now he was regretting ever saying anything. She would no doubt say no, and then it would become uncomfortable between the two of them. Something he really, really didn't want. T'Pol was one of his best friends on Enterprise, putting their friendship in jeopardy was the last thing he wanted, but now that seemed to have happened.

Trip rose to leave, a defeated look on his face. In that split second T'Pol had made up her choice. She stood and raised her arm to stop him, he turned, his eyes glistening with unshed tears and she leaned forward to kiss him, just as the comm. sounded.

"Trip, T'Pol, I hope I'm not disturbing you." The voice of Captain Archer cut through the speaker system.

If T'Pol had been human she would have frowned in annoyance, but she was Vulcan, and so showed no sign of anger at getting disturbed at such an inconvenient time. Trip however was, and his irritation was evident on his face.

"We're here Cap'n what can we do for you" Trip inquired, not taking his eyes off T'Pol, who was standing mere inches from him.

"I was wondering if you had found anything? Our visitor should be waking up shortly, and I need as much information as possible." Archer responded.

"We should be finished here within a matter of minute's Captain. We will report to the bridge, and update you on our progress" T'Pol interjected.

"Ok, good work you two," with that Archer shut off the comm.

Trip's eyes found T'Pol's, almost scared to venture the question he asked "Does this mean?…." in response T'Pol nodded

"We should continue this later." said T'Pol "Somewhere we can't be interrupted," she continued, raising an elegant eyebrow.

Trip grinned; at that very moment he didn't think he could be much happier. He climbed out of the craft smiling so much so he thought he could give Phlox a run for his money.

The two quickly arrived on the bridge, looking for their commanding officer.

"The captain just got a call from Phlox; it seems the patient woke up early. The Captain and Lieutenant Reed just left." stated Hoshi, who had been left in charge of the bridge.

Hoshi had hoped to have gone with them, thinking that perhaps the Vulcan couldn't speak English, and so needed her to translate. However that had been why the universal translators had been taken. She thought back to around five years ago. If this had happened back then she would have done anything to avoid meeting their new, potentially dangerous 'guest'. But now she was eager to go! It had surprised her how much she had changed in the last few years, she had grown into a stronger and more confident person- joining Enterprise had been the best thing she had ever done.

Nodding to Ensign Sato, T'Pol walked over to her station, Trip close behind. At least this way they could finish decrypting the information before the Captain arrived, as whoever had encrypted the data had certainly done a good job.

* * *

Down in sickbay the mysterious Vulcan male was finally regaining consciousness. Lieutenant Reed was close by, a phase pistol gripped in hand. Archer didn't want the first images when the Vulcan awoke to be of an armed security officer, but past experiences had taught Archer to air on the side of caution. 

The Vulcan's eyes flew open; he squinted around the room, his vision still slightly blurred. His eyes settled on several cages, full of different species of animals. '_Where am I this time?_' He thought grimly to himself. His hands came up to the wound on his chest and he felt to see how badly he had been injured. The wound was healed, but had also left a permanent reminder, a large, unattractive scar. '_One more to go along with the others_', the Vulcan considered bleakly. He looked once more at his surroundings, only now aware of the humans that stood before him, one with a weapon pointed at him.

'Where am I?' he asked in Vulcan, his mother tongue being used with no thought to his audience. He immediately realised who he was talking to, and so transferred to English.

"Where am I?" He asked again. This time in English.

"You are aboard the Earth Star ship Enterprise, we received you distress signal. You are currently in our sickbay. I am Captain Archer".

Grabbing the side of the bed the Vulcan attempted to sit up "I am afraid that would be unwise" advised Phlox.

"I've suffered through worse," responded the Vulcan, attaining an upright position, and standing up. He looked unsteady on his feet but took a step forward.

"I am afraid I can't let you go anywhere," said Archer "I would also like to ask you some questions. For instance; why you were drifting this far out, what type of ship do you have, and where you got your injuries from."

"All in good time." responded the Vulcan, "but first let me introduce myself. I am called Sovek" he took a breath, trying to clear his pounding head. "I have come with a warning for both of our people. At this very moment, a species is preparing an all out war with Earth and Vulcan, one that could kill billions. I assume you have heard of the Romulans."

Captain Archer's head snapped up to the Vulcan's "Did you say the Romulans?"

"Indeed I did Captain. Now I believe it would be best if you gathered your senior staff together, what I have to say will no doubt involve them, and I would prefer not to explain this again."

Before Archer could respond Sovek walked towards sickbay's doors. "Sir?" inquired Reed.

"I think we need to hear what he has to say Malcolm. Lead him to the conference room, I'll be there shortly".

Nodding, the chief of security escorted the Vulcan out of Sickbay and along the corridors.

Malcolm was happy to walk in silence, and he had expected the Vulcan would be to. He was caught off guard however when Sovek began talking.

"How long has this ship been exploring deep space, Malcolm was it? Because I must say it looks quite impressive" enquired Sovek. His vision had cleared and he was feeling less and less disorientated. He had always found engaging in conversation put many species, including Humans at ease. It also meant he could find out more information about Enterprise. He disliked being in an unknown situation, with hardly any information about where he was, or what sort of people he was with. If he had to admit it, he also didn't mind casually conversing with other species. Unlike other Vulcans who deemed it unnecessary Sovek had found it brought people to trust more, and it sometimes worked in his favour. People were more likely to reveal information in what they believed idle conversation. He also surprisingly found it quite…..enjoyable.

Malcolm was taken aback; it was not often Vulcan's engaged in 'small talk', let alone complemented humans on their skills, or inquired about Earth's progress.

"It's been about 5 years now, and she is quite impressive isn't she." responded Reed.

Their conversations continued like this to the conference room, gaining a few odd stares on their way. Malcolm did not know what it was, but for some reason he was starting to like this Vulcan, that still didn't mean he trusted him though!

* * *

Arriving at the conference room were all of the senior officers, with the exception of T'Pol, who was just finishing with the decryption. They took their seats, all eyes on their new guest who was seated next to Captain Archer. 

"Is this everyone?" asked Sovek. Like any Vulcan, he wanted to get straight to the issue at hand. Enough time had been wasted when he was in his ship, he needed to inform the humans what he had found, and then they could act.

"We are just waiting for our science officer she should be here shortly." responded Archer. "Let me introduce you to my other officers while we wait. This is commander 'Trip' Tucker my chief engineer. Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, my security officer who you have already met. My communications officer Ensign Hoshi Sato, my Pilot Travis Mayweather."

Just as he said this the doors opened, looking around he saw his second in command, "And my science officer…."

"T'Pol?" the Vulcan male answered, before Archer could respond.

T'Pol looked over to where the voice had come from, the padd in her hand dropped to the floor.

"Is that truly you? I believed I would never see you again," muttered Sovek, all eyes were drawn to their visitor.

"Do you two know each other?" Archer asked.

Instead of answering Sovek took several steps forward towards T'Pol, who in turn took a few steps backwards.

"Impossible." T'Pol whispered, "Your dead!"

To any outsider it would have appeared that T'Pol was being a model Vulcan, no emotions evident on her face. For the crew of enterprise it was different. They had spent the last five years with her, and could identify the small indications that showed an inner battle of emotions raging within. It was even more pronounced for Trip, who thanks to the bond they shared could feel the torrents of confusion, uncertainty and anger? Wash over him. He rose and walked over to T'Pol, putting him in a position between her and their visitor.

"Are you ok?" he asked her. A slight nod was his only acknowledgement.

"Who are you, and how do you know T'Pol" he demanded wanting to spare T'Pol any more distress.

The answer he received was not what he, or anyone else for that matter expected, "I am her Father."

At that very moment the tension in the room increased dramatically, everyone looked to T'Pol for conformation. "You are not my father." she shot back. "My father died many years ago." She glanced at Captain Archer "May I be excused?" he nodded in response, with that she left the room, Trip following a few moments later. The remaining members of the room were unsure of what to do next.

"I think you better explain what's going on Sovek," stated Archer. "And I want the truth".


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note 

Thanks for all you reviews again.

Disclaimer: Don't own show etc etc

Summary: Sovek's identity is confirmed, his story is revealed.

* * *

T'pol moved quickly through enterprise's corridors. Oblivious to her surroundings her only goal to get to her quarters, reaching them finally she keyed in her code and stepped inside. She sank to the floor in front of her meditation candle, left there from earlier on. What was she suppose to think? It could not possibly be her father. He had died, heroically by all accounts over 40 years ago and now he was back from the dead? No! It had to be a trick, she would had of heard from her father before now if he had been alive, she would have heard something, anything.

Her door buzzed interrupting her thought pattern; she knew who it would be. "Enter" she called out and Trip entered.

"Hey, I came to see how your doing." Unsure of how to continue he sat down next to her, their shoulders touching. "Is it really true what that guy said about being you father?"

T'pol shook her head "My father died forty five years ago, the man we met with is an impostor."

Being in such close proximity with T'pol trip could sense her uncertainty even more, he put his arms around her and she relaxed, ever so slightly in his embrace.

"T'pol, have you considered that it might actually be true?"

In truth she had briefly considered this but she could find no logic in why her father would have remained hidden for so long; if she had to admit it to herself, a part of her wanted it to be a lie. As a child she had idolised her father as much as any Vulcan could and he being alive now, lying to her and everyone else would tarnish the respect and fond memories she had of him.

As if reading her thoughts Trip whispered to her "He could have had a genuine reason why he has kept hidden for so long." That did seem logical she thought, but what was so serious that he could not tell his own family that he was alive?

"You know you've got a chance many people would do anything for, you've got another chance T'pol." she had not considered that at all. What if he was telling the truth, she would have her father back again. Trip was right she had to find out if he was her father.

"We should go to Phlox and get him to perform a DNA test" said Trip "That should confirm whether Sovek is just who he claims to be." Trip stood and helped T'pol up.

"Are you sure you're ok." the engineer asked again

"I'm fine, and thank you for your help Trip."

"Any time" he grinned as they walked out of her quarters, closer to each other than was necessary.

When the two arrived at sickbay, it appeared the Captain had had the same idea about a DNA test, Phlox was just finishing his final analysis on his patient as Trip and T'pol arrived, drawing everyone's attention. It appeared the rest of the senior staff were not needed elsewhere and were happy to find out more information on their new 'guest.' T'pol avoided looking at Sovek so instead she focused her attention on the medical screen which was displaying phlox's reading's. Travis spoke first

"What does all that mean?" he said indicating to the data.

T'pol's eyes flew from side to side assimilating the information "It means, Sovek was telling the truth, he is my father."…..

Captain Archer did not think he could take much more. After the shocking revelation that Earth and Vulcan were about to be attacked and then the revelation that the informant was T'pol's apparently dead father he didn't know what to think. All he wanted now was answers and he was for sure going to do anything to get them. Sovek had refused to say anything after T'pol had left instead saying that he would only reveal what was going on with her present. Archer thought that was fair, after all he deserved a chance to explain why he had lied to his daughter for so many years, right? But now T'pol was here and he was going to get answers.

"Ok Sovek now we have confirmed who you are and T'pol's here I want to know everything."

"I believe that is reasonable captain," responded Sovek trying in vain to catch his daughters attention and failing. "I believe I should start at the beginning."

He stood, his hands graspedbehind his back; a regular Vulcan stance. "Around fifty years ago I worked in the ministry of security. It was my job to, how do you put it, do my governments dirty work. This involved the usual things you would expect, classified missions, capturing convicts, but overall securing Vulcan and therefore my family's safety." With that he once again looked over to T'pol and their eyes briefly met.

"On one mission which was particularly dangerous I discovered information which I wasn't expected to find. This information exposed several members of the high command and their dealings with a species who I later found to be the Romulans." Sovek considered for a moment what would have happened if he had never gone on that mission, how different his life would have been. He wouldn't have been hunted, he wouldn't have had to give up his entire life, his family.

Sovek's revelation came as a huge shock to the Enterprise staff. "What would Vulcan have to gain from dealing with the Romulans?" asked Archer.

"I will get to that later captain. When I discovered this information, it became apparent that there was a lot more to the story. In the months that followed, I took it upon myself to carry out some independent research, which was helped by the fact that I was a ranking member of the ministry of security. I soon found that the extent of betrayal ran much further than I ever expected and it was then that I realised me and my family were in a lot of danger." Taking a deep breath, he continued

"I couldn't put them in danger because of me. They would be used against me and I couldn't reveal what I had found as there was more that needed to be discovered so I realised the only way to accomplish both was to fake my own death. At that time there was only one other person who I trusted enough to reveal what I had found. His name was Soval. He too had worked at the ministry."

"Wait, ambassador Soval helped to fake your death?" said Trip disbelievingly

"Ambassador?" said Sovek 'It seems he has done quite well for himself in my absence.' he mused. "And in response to your question yes, he helped me." pausing for a moment to consider how to go on Sovek continued.

"The opportunity presented itself when Soval and I were both travelling close to an Earth shipping lane. We were both travelling home from a joint assignment when an Earth ship, it must not have been able to reach more than warp one point three was being attacked by pirates, trying to steal the vessel's cargo. The ship we were travelling on did not have that much fire power but it was enough to stop the attack and save the ship, I believe it was called the horizon or something close to that."

"The horizon?" interrupted Mayweather, the only boomer of the crew.

"Yes, have you heard of it?"

"Heard of it, it was my father's ship" Travis responded

"My father use to tell me the story of how he was rescued in the early days when he started transporting cargo by a Vulcan, he always said he received the strangest request afterwards but he never did tell me what it was and I never did find out." said Travis disappointed. His father had died a few years ago, and this story amongst other things were left unresolved. It reminded him of just how much he had missed his father.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance." The Vulcan answered.

"After we drove off the pirates we docked with the ship and I met an enthusiastic young man, the Captain, who didn't seem at all put off by the resent encounter."

This caused Travis to break out into a huge smile "That sounds like my dad." he said proudly, warming instantly to the Vulcan before him. After all if it had not been for him, the ship and his parents would have been destroyed and he would not be here.

"We helped with any repairs and then it occurred to me that I had the best opportunity I could hope for to carry out my plan. I talked it over with Soval and Horizon's captain and it was agreed that I would take the Vulcan ship, while Soval returned on the Horizon. We would say that the pirates returned and in the battle my ship was destroyed, me along with it, all the while Soval was on the Human ship helping with repairs. The plan worked flawlessly and to every one I once knew I was dead" Sovek looked down to the floor he hadn't thought going over that particular part of his life would have been so difficult. "It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do give up my family. Lie to my wife and my only child." he looked over to T'pol, "And for that I am truly sorry."

The second the words left his mouth Sovek felt a shooting pain overwhelm his senses, he briefly heard someone ask if he was ok; he blinked as if to clear his vision, his eyesight becoming blurred and collapsed…

* * *

To be continued... 

(Sorry about yet another cliffhanger. I promise the next update won't have one... probably)

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	4. Chapter 4

Author's note 

Thanks to all who took the time to review, much appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 4 

Phlox ran to his side a scanner in hand "Sovek can you hear me" receiving no response the Doctor rolled him on to his front and checked his heart rate.

"His heart rate's erratic, hand me the hypo spray and the blue vial over there" Phlox said indicating to Commander Tucker, the person closest to the medical store. Trip grabbed what the doctor had asked for and rushed over to him.

"Doctor what is wrong with him." T'pol asked as the Doctor injected the blue liquid into Sovek's bloodstream.

"It appears I had underestimated the amount of stress his body had been under. He was in the craft for a very long time and the combination of that coupled with the numerous other injuries he has sustained over the years finally caught up with him, what he needs now is rest."

Within seconds it seemed the blue serum had worked and Sovek's eyes flickered open. He attempted to stand up but was held in place by the doctor.

"I am afraid the only thing you will be doing for the next 24 hours will be lying on that bed over there." said Phlox pointing " And trying to recover some of the nutrients you have lost and allowing your body to recover." he continued.

Sovek rolled his eyes, a very un-Vulcan thing to do mused the Denoblian

"I am fine doctor."

"You will let me be the judge of that." said Phlox "I will need to ask you all to leave. My patient requires rest. You can continue your conversation tomorrow, no earlier" he said directing this to the Captain.

Acknowledging Phlox the officers left, some reluctant to go- wanting to hear the rest of the story.

* * *

Malcolm Reed picked up his Tray and glanced around the mess hall, chef was serving his favourite desert today, pineapple pie. He scanned the room to find a familiar face and saw Hoshi and Travis waving him over. Walking over to them he set down his tray and sat down, two pairs of eyes stared intently at him. 

"What?" he asked

"We wanted to know what you thought of Sovek." said Hoshi eager for new gossip.

"Yeah, according to Lieutenant Hess you were talking to him on the way to the briefing room."

Malcolm wasn't surprised when he heard Hess's name come up. He briefly remembered passing her in the corridor so shouldn't have been surprised when the information got back to Hoshi. There was no doubt they were the Queen's of gossip aboard Enterprise, nothing happened that these two didn't know about, that thought disturbed Malcolm a little.

"We didn't talk that much, he asked about Enterprise and some of our missions but that's it, he didn't come across as any Vulcan I've ever met before though." Malcolm replied.

"It must run in the family" responded Travis "Before T'pol I didn't think a Vulcan could put up with humans for more than a few weeks, let alone serve under one."

Hoshi considered this for a moment, "It's a little surprising he's the commanders father, I thought after five years of serving aboard Enterprise I'd seen and heard everything that could surprise me but it appears I was wrong."

Malcolm and Travis nodded in agreement.

"I wonder how she's taking it. I mean it must be a shock and you heard her she thought her father was dead." responded Travis

Hoshi didn't want to say anything but she had a good idea that T'pol was with Trip, Enterprise's grape vine had been full of rumours about those two, especially since the incident with Terra Prime as they spent more and more of their free time together. She knew not to believe a lot of the rumours flying around but she had noticed a change in her two superior officers. As communications officer she was suppose to be able to communicate and translate a number of languages, this included body language and she had been kept busy by the two for the past few weeks. The way T'pol stood closer to commander Tucker than any of the crew, her posture slightly more relaxed whenever he was around, indicated that she felt safe around him and wanted contact with him, taking into account that she was Vulcan and Vulcan's were touch telepaths this was very revealing.

Trip's tells were much easier to read, it almost offered no challenge. It was his eyes that gave him away, whenever he saw T'pol, his eyes would almost sparkle slightly and flicker in her direction. Someone once said that the eyes were the window to the soul and in Commander Tucker's case they couldn't be more accurate.

Hoshi would have been pleased to have been proven correct. Trip was indeed with T'pol in her quarters. She was sat at her desk, Trip leaning over her looking at the screen.

"Is that…?"

"My father and me, yes." The screen showed a picture of a young Vulcan child-T'pol standing with her father at what appeared to be the fire planes. She looked not more than five years old and had a tiny smile on her face, almost unnoticeable. It appeared her emotional control had not completely developed. Her Father had his arm resting on her shoulder and was looking directly at the camera, he too appeared… content.

T'pol stared at the photograph, she could remember that day so vividly. Her father had promised her that he would take her on a trip, just him and her; he never got to spend much time with her as he was always working. She remembered that she had looked forward to it for weeks, her mother had been displeased at her lack of emotional restraint as she enthusiastically described what she and father would do in the weeks leading up to it. Her father had dismissed her mother's complaints. Thinking back, he had always been more accepting of her 'inadequate' emotional control, which had always been a slight problem for her. In hindsight, it appeared he too was more emotional than 'normal' Vulcan's this she remembered had always…concerned her mother.

"How come you've never talked about him before?"

T'pol looked around facing Trip, she considered how to respond. "It has always been a difficult subject for me to discuss, I was very close to my father growing up, more so than I have ever been with my mother. It took me a very long time to accept what had happened, " she pondered the issue further, "I suppose I never truly got over the incident and it was partly the reason why I joined the ministry of security, a way to follow in his footsteps you may say." T'pol looked back at the image displayed on the monitor.

"I do not know how to proceed."

Trip frowned "You mean with your father?"

T'pol nodded, "I had thought him dead for more than four decades and now he has returned."

"You mean you don't know if you can forgive him for lying to you." Trip interjected

"Vulcan's do not hold grudges." she responded but Trip wasn't fooled, Vulcan's may act as if they had no emotions but Trip knew better, they had emotions. Emotions that were so powerful that if they took control it could consume them, the incident he had heard about on the Vulcan ship the Selena was a prime example of this.

"T'pol, I have no idea how hard this must be for you and so I can't tell you what to do but I'm here for you. You helped me through so many rough times I can only hope I can do the same for you." Trip said sincerely

"Now why don't I go to the mess and get us some food it's been a long day and I haven't eaten and I bet you haven't too." Trip didn't need a response to know he was right "I'll be right back ok." and with that he left her quarters.

Down in sickbay Doctor Phlox was witnessing a brand new sight, a restless Vulcan.

"Doctor how long must you insist I lay here. I have sufficiently recovered." Sovek said.

He wanted to do something… anything he wasn't use to just laying around but most of all he wanted to see his daughter again. When he saw her in the briefing room his heart stopped, he wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't hallucinating or that some sort of sick joke was being played on him. It had happened before, he had been captured and given something to make him see things, to persuade him to give his captors the information they wanted, it hadn't worked though he had been stronger than they thought.

The doctor thankfully pulled him out of his train of thought. The second worse thing to getting tortured was having to relive it afterwards and he was glad for the doctor's distraction.

"It has only been eight hours and I hold the right to asses your health." responded Phlox. "I can always give you something to make you relax, if you require." That seemed to work and Sovek sighed, this time remaining quite. Phlox glanced at him. He was not like any Vulcan he had ever met and he seemed to openly show some emotions. Sovek caught the Doctor look over to him once more "What?" he asked.

"I apologise. I was just thinking that you are unlike any Vulcan I have ever met." said Phlox

Sovek shrugged? "My neural pathways have been damaged over the years it has become harder and harder for me to control my emotions, over time I have been able to find a balance. Even before I never believed as strongly as most that emotions were a thing to be feared, I have learned to live with them."

Phlox accepted his honest answer and wondered how he had sustained his neural damage, he didn't want to pry but came to the obvious conclusion- it appeared that Sovek had not only be tortured physically but also mentally and as a doctor, someone who tried prevent pain that thought sickened him.

Trip returned a short time later carrying a tray full of food; he was so hungry he couldn't decide what to have, so brought a selection for him and T'pol. Reaching her door, he juggled the tray, keyed in the code to enter, and stepped inside. Upon walking inside he saw T'pol meditating, he couldn't blame her, if he was in her position that would be exactly what he would be doing right now. Trying not to disturb her he placed the tray down and started to eat, he figured she'd be meditating for a while and wouldn't begrudge him to settle his grumbling stomach. Within the next ten minutes he had finished his food, he looked around her quarters deciding what he could do next. T'pol was still meditating and he didn't want to leave her.

He looked at her desk and noticed several pad's, neatly piled up. He read the title of the top one entitle the Kir'sha'ra. Trip frowned, that was the Vulcan text T'pol had endlessly studied for months after it had been found. Looking over to her he decided to give it a go, after all, it wasn't as if he had much else to do, picking up the padd he sat down and started to read. After the first few chapters, Trip's eyelids began to get heavy, 'Damn T'pol if that's not dry reading I don't know what is.' Trip said to himself yawning. Looking over to her bed the thought struck him that he could get a quick ten minutes in while T'pol meditated, she wouldn't mind, would she? Trip stood, walked over, lay down and closed his eyes.

* * *

No cliffhanger as promised. 

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Trip awoke hours later, aware that his arms were wrapped around another figure, he looked around as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, these weren't his quarters. He scanned his memories trying to figure out how he got there. His mind registered, I was only suppose to close my eyes for a few minutes he thought to himself as he realised he was in T'pol's quarters. Looking to his side he saw the Vulcan, eyes closed and a restless expression etched on her face. She was muttering words Trip couldn't understand, Vulcan he assumed. She seemed to be having some sort of nightmare he figured. Did Vulcan's even have nightmares or dreams for that matter Trip asked himself, it didn't matter but whatever it was it was obviously distressing her.

"T'pol, wake up." Trip said. Nothing happened

"T'pol, wake up." he said again, louder this time and shaking her slightly

This did get attention and she shot up, her eyes darting around the room, she was shaking slightly.

"Trip?" she whispered. Trip noticed that her voice quivered slightly.

"It's ok, I'm here" he said soothingly wrapping his arms around her, she hugged him back with just as much force.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" he asked

"My father." she responded.

Elaborating further she continued, "right after he died…. I mean right after I found out he was supposedly dead." she said correcting herself. "I kept having dreams about my father. He was in so much pain that it felt as if I was the one suffering, he kept asking me to help him but every time I failed. It became so overwhelming that it was decided I undergo the Kolinar to purge myself of the dreams and the emotions that came with them, it worked but the nightmares have returned." she sounded ever so slightly scared as she said this last part and that in turn scared Trip.

"You don't have to worry T'pol" Trip soothed "I'm here and they're just nightmares, they've probably just been triggered by your dad showing up that's all."

T'pol nodded "It's 0600 now, our shifts should be starting in a few hours. Do you want to go and get some breakfast? There will be hardly any one around" Trip asked just now noticing the food which he had brought last night for her had remained untouched.

"I believe it would be best if you should shower and change uniforms first commander." T'pol replied an eyebrow raised

Trip looked down, his uniform was completely creased from sleeping in it last night, not the most suitable attire for a senior officer and skipping his shower yesterday meant he wasn't doing T'pol's sensitive nose any favours.

"Good idea." he said sheepishly "I'll meet you at the mess in half an hour ok?" he said walking out of the door, she followed slightly behind.

"Trip, wait." she said walking up to him. "Thank you." she said "…For everything."

Trip nodded and T'pol pivoted around about to go back into her room when Trip turned her around, leaned down and softly kissed her.

"You know I'm always here to help." He grinned back to her and walked off down the corridor. T'pol went back into her quarters and touched her lips where Trip had kissed her. Even though her Vulcan mask didn't change, inside the emotions her culture had taught her to suppress surged within her. She had defiantly made the right choice about being with him. She had never met anyone, Vulcan or human for that matter who evoked such feelings within her.

Sovek had finally persuaded Phlox to release him for a short time on the basis that he 'stretch his legs.' Archer had deemed that he was not a serious security risk given that he possessed no weapons, was co-operating fully and if he had to admit it didn't, for now possess enough energy to do much else than walk slowly around the corridors of Enterprise. That however didn't mean a security officer, trailing several metres behind him trying to go un-noticed, unsuccessfully following him. In truth the officer was doing quite a good job but Vulcan hearing and military training gave Sovek a significant advantage. He couldn't blame Archer, Sovek was being given freedom to go around Enterprise, just a limited amount of it; past experiences had taught the crew to be more cautious of visitors. Sovek considered some of the mission reports Phlox had been kind enough to give him during his 'resting' period. He hadn't been given any potentially dangerous information just some of enterprises early mission reports- which could be easily obtained. Sovek thought it interesting at just how much trouble these human's seemed to attract, at least he had some thing in common with them in that respect he reflected.

Sovek had also wanted to get out of sickbay for another reason, the main reason to see his daughter, she had always been an early riser and hopefully she still was. He wanted to perhaps talk to her - try to convince her that he had done what he had done to keep her safe or find out what he had missed in the forty-five years that he had missed, either way he just wanted to see her. He rounded a corner indicating that he was nearing the superior officer quarters. He stopped and backed up slightly round the corner as a door opened, he had hoped that he wouldn't encounter many personnel, which was why he chose this time to 'explore' Enterprise. He recognised the man that walked through the door- a Commander Tucker if he was not mistaken. His hair was ruffled and he appeared unshaven.

The name commander Tucker had come up on several occasions in the reports he had read. Two things had stuck in his mind regarding the commander and they weren't very good- first known man to become pregnant and an incident with pollen causing him to become delusional and threatening T'pol. Not the best examples of human behaviour, looking at the direction the commander was going in Sovek decided it must have been time for shifts to start and so was about to turn back when he heard his daughters voice.

"Trip, wait."

Sovek knew he should leave, the two didn't know he was here, he should go now but he just wanted to see his daughter. The commander stopped.

"Thank you…. For everything."

The commander smiled and just as T'pol was about to enter her quarters he turned her around to face him then leaned down and kissed her.

Sovek was shocked. Was T'pol in a relationship with this human?

Sovek thought over what had just happened, why had she said thank you? Thank you for what? He wondered. What had Tucker done that T'pol needed to thank him for? Sovek needed to investigate this further, he wasn't sure what he thought of this new revelation. Especially the fact that he was coming out of his daughter's quarters at this time in the morning looking like he had slept there. Sovek had believed fraternization between staff was not allowed, yet this Tucker was obviously breaking this rule and had gotten his daughter caught up in it. He may have been 'missing' for forty or so years but he still cared about what happened to his daughter and he would be damned if he let anyone hurt her. Especially some womanising human who had already gotten himself pregnant through his 'exploration' of other species.

0800 arrived quickly. Captain Archer had arranged for his senior officers and his newest arrival to meet in the briefing room to continue the discussion from the previous day. As he arrived he found all of his staff, plus Sovek seated and waiting for his arrival. Was it him or was Sovek glaring at his third in command? Archer dismissed it as his imagination and greeted the people before him. After a brief exchange of conversation the captain pressed Sovek to continue his story.

"After leaving Soval on the Horizon, I realised I needed to discover what the Romulans and my government was conspiring to do. I couldn't do this as effectively when I was 'alive' as this would have brought me too much attention, but I had the chance now. Years passed before I found any thing concrete and in that time, I made numerous enemies. What I did discover though only confirmed that what I had done was in the best interest of my family and my people…. I found a Romulan research facility."

"A lab, that's what all the suspense was about." questioned Trip, he sounded unimpressed.

"Yes commander, a lab." Sovek responded sharply.

He continued, "It wasn't the lab that was of interest, it was what was being conducted there - genetic research. Research into Vulcan and human genetics along with many other species in this quadrant. This I found was then being used for the development of bio weapons, amongst other things. Weapons to eliminate your species, mine and others. They were years away from getting a result, but I managed to set back their progress even further." Sovek sneered slightly "I paid for it too."

This elicited a bigger response. "Why would they see human's as a threat, we had barely mastered warp by then." said Archer, his jaw clenched.

"The Romulans were unconcerned with who would pose a threat to them Captain, they wanted domination, plane and simple if they had a weapon that could control worlds, entire species and wipe them out if necessary it gave them absolute power. That is what the Romulan Empire seeks."

"How come we've only started getting trouble from then lately then?" questioned Trip "If they are such a big bad enemy then why hadn't we heard of them before."

"You can't honestly believe the Romulans have just decided this year to star causing trouble, they've been planning for years, biding their time. The altercations you've had with them lately have just been a test- to assess how much of a threat you are and soon they are going to strike!"

The room fell silent, contemplating what Sovek had just revealed.

T'pol broke the silence, this had been the first time she had addressed her father since the altercation yesterday. "You said soon, do you know when and how they plan to act?"

Her father faced her "That piece of information nearly caused my death- for real this time. It is what led up to me floating in the ship you found me in, I believe they thought I was dead, or at least getting there." he said, anger slightly apparent on his face.

"I managed to access the co-ordinates for their main weapons facility. We are fortunate that they have limited protection, but that will not remain so for long; we will need to act quickly. The only way we will be able to stop them is to gain control of their computer system and set the self-destruct manually. It will not be an easy task to accomplish in the slightest. Their will no doubt be several security measures in place, but Phlox has told me that it would be no problem for you miss Sato" Sovek said causing Hoshi to blush. Even with all her talents, Hoshi still became embarassed when her skills were praised.

Captain Archer looked unsure of the plan. "You realise if we go through with the plan our actions would be the prelude to war."

"Captain, if you do not do this there will still be a war; millions will die and you will have lost your only advantage. I for one do not wish to see that happen!"

"I will need to contact my superiors and I will need proof of what you are saying is true." Archer replied.

Sovek stood up "Captain I will give you all of the proof you need but do not tell them from whom you received it." Archer looked confused

"I have been considered dead for over forty years, if your leaders tell my people about me- which they no doubt will my sacrifices would have been for nothing."

Archer considered this and nodded. "I will need to contact Starfleet and inform them. In the meantime you will be assigned temporary quarters, you may go anywhere around the ship with the exception of; the bridge, engineering and the armoury which are off limits, unless you have an escort present."

"Thank you for your hospitality captain it is much appreciated."

Archer smiled at his courtesy. "We will need your data to back up the information you gathered, I want you to work with Trip, Malcolm and Hoshi; get them up to speed with what you know. I want a report on how best to proceed, if we do get the go ahead." everyone acknowledged "T'pol can I talk to you for a moment." Archer asked

Everyone else filed out of the room; leaving just Archer and T'pol.

"T'pol I just wanted to know if you're ok with this, it must be a shock for you finding your fathers still alive. I mean I don't know how I'd be handling this if I were in your shoes, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you if you ever need help- someone to talk to." Archer resisted the urge to place his hand on her shoulder showing his support, which he would have normally done any other member of the crew.

"I appreciate your concern captain." T'pol answered. The two stood in silence for a few seconds.

"I should go, I need to contact Starfleet and talk to the Admiral." the Captain said breaking the silence. "This isn't a conversation I'm looking forward to" he sighed and left to go to his ready room.

* * *

Next update should be in about a week.. or two 

Review's welcolmed


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Down in the situation room Trip and Sovek were coming to blows. They, along with Hoshi and Malcolm had been assigned to put together a possible plan to infiltrate and deal with the potential Romulan threat. It wasn't going as smoothly as hoped, It seemed the Vulcan was shooting everything the engineer suggested down. It wasn't entirely one sided either. Tucker had dismissed some of Sovek's ideas as unfeasible; seeming to antagonise the Vulcan further. Trip couldn't understand it, he had always perceived himself as a friendly person and everything he seemed to do to change Sovek's view of him caused the Vulcan to act even more like he hated Enterprise's chief engineer.

Several hours passed, the four of them making very little progress. Malcolm and Hoshi's part in the 'discussion' had been reduced from offering their opinions on how a task could be accomplished to sitting around while Trip and Sovek argued the advantages and disadvantages of each other's apparent solutions. Hoshi had thought it odd how similar this situation mirrored one that had occurred around five years ago between Trip and T'pol. It seemed the engineer had a particular effect on Vulcan's. Hoshi only hoped that the same mutual respect that had developed between Trip and T'pol would surface between Trip and Sovek . She did not think she could put up with their stubbornness for much longer!

Hours later it was decided that they should conclude and meet up again tomorrow. Everyone was tired and Trip for one was glad to get out of there, he hadn't been infuriated this much by anyone… well except T'pol he mused. At the thought of his favourite Vulcan Trip's mood improved slightly. Reaching the mess he picked up a pie of pecan pie and walked passed all of the tables; he headed to the back of the room where the first officer sat, camomile tea in hand.

"How glad am I to see you." Trip said sitting down next to her and taking a massive mouthful of the sugary dessert.

T'pol raised one eyebrow at his action. "Have you made any progress with the data collected?" she inquired.

Trip paused and swallowed his mouthful. "Hardly any, anytime I tried to make a suggestion Sovek pointed out my flawed and irrational logic" Trip said, using air quotes to emphasise his point. "If I didn't know any better I'd say he's got something against me."

"That is an illogical assumption Trip."

Trip rolled his eyes "Have you talked to him yet?"

T'pol didn't respond, instead taking a sip of her tea. "I'll take that as a no then." Trip supplied.

"I will talk to him soon. I require some time to…. adjust to this situation."

"Well whatever you do I'm right behind you T'pol."

Taking the last bite of his dessert Trip yawned. "I might turn in early; it's been a long day." He leaned slightly closer, his voice quieter.

"Are you going to be ok? The nightmares I mean. You were pretty shook up this morning and I was worried about you." T'pol turned to face him "I will be fine, if I meditate for longer the dreams will more than likely cease." Trip looked unconvinced but knew that even if she did have a problem she would rather not admit it, even to him. That was more about her being Vulcan though than anything else. Trip nodded anyway. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight."

* * *

Sovek entered 'his' new quarters, they were bigger than he would have expected. Walking over to the desk, he sat down and accessed the programme he and the three others had been working on. Perhaps he could get some work done now that Tucker wasn't there he thought to himself. His initial thoughts about this man had been correct. He was an overly emotional human who dismissed any ideas that weren't his own. It wasn't surprising the amount of times he had gotten him self caught up in trouble. 

Sovek had been reading some more of Enterprise's early missions. He had just finished reading the account of Tucker's encounter with the kidnapped princess. He was found in a very compromising position when found by the others from Enterprise sent to rescue him. Why should this have surprised him? Tucker was already breaking fraternization rules. Placing his career and T'pol's in jeopardy. The commander's blatant disregard for orders only increased Sovek's dislike of him. What his daughter saw in the young engineer was beyond him. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if Tucker had even tricked T'pol in some way. Persuading her that an 'experiment' of everything that it meant to be human would help her understand them better.

Sovek needed to talk to T'pol, but not just about Tucker, he wanted to find out what had happened in the last forty years to her, to her mother. What led to T'pol staying on Enterprise? What career path did she choose before her posting here? All these questions and more he wanted to ask her. He looked at the clock on the computer 1:45 am. He wouldn't have the chance tomorrow he decided. He didn't really want to wake her either but he needed to talk to her.

* * *

Trip awoke suddenly. Waves of fear flooded his consciousness, he felt terrified. He looked around his room, the digits of his alarm clocks illuminating the time- 2am. _What the hell's going on? -_ The main thought passing through his mind.He tried to clear his head of all thoughts and emotions but the fear remained. 

It was then that he realised the emotions weren't his; they belonged to T'pol and she was in trouble. Trip stood up, pulled on some trousers lying haphazardly on the floor, and rushed out into the corridor heading to T'pols quarters.

He realised if a crewmember saw him it could look a bit unusual to say the least. The gossip would also be circulating around the ship for months. The chief engineer running around shirtless and in the direction of the science officers quarters; he didn't care. The emotions he had felt had been getting stronger and stronger as he got closer. Reaching his destination he didn't bother trying to alert her to his presence. Instead, he keyed in his security code and entered, running inside.

Sovek retraced his steps that he took yesterday. His acute hearing picked up footsteps, whomever they belonged to was running and they were coming in his direction; he carried on nevertheless. He was about to turn down the corridor leading to T'pol's quarters when he stopped. He had found the source of the footsteps that he heard. They belonged to Commander Tucker, who was stood half-naked in front of his daughter's quarters. He did not seem at all concerned about being caught. Maybe this was not an unusual occurrence. Perhaps it happened quite often. Tucker got 'lonely' at night and so went to someone who could 'keep him company.' Sovek considered to himself.

Sovek watched as Tucker keyed in a code and let himself in. The nerve of this human! Sovek growled. He clenched his hand making a fist, anger was apparent on his face. The Vulcan closed his eyes and took several calming breaths. He would make sure Tucker was dealt with. With that, he turned on his heel and left.

Trip entered the room. The scene he was met with was worse than the night previous. T'pol was jerking around madly in her sleep as if trying to get away from someone. She was murmuring in Vulcan again and looked scared. Trip rushed to her side shaking her awake. "T'pol, wake up dar'lin your dreaming again. Come on wake up."

"T'pol's eyes shot open, she looked disorientated and confused.

"You were dreaming again." Trip explained.

T'pol nodded, shaking. Trip wrapped his bare arms around her; she sank into his embrace.

"How did you know I was dreaming?" T'pol asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know. I just woke up and it was just like I could feel you were in trouble, all I knew was that I had to get to you - to keep you safe."

T'pol took in the information, eyebrow raised. "It was more than likely the bond that we share. It is designed to warn mate's that the one they are joined to is in danger. The need you felt to get to me is a primal Vulcan instinct. It is designed to protect one's mate. It seems our bond is strengthening."

T'pol looked over to Trip considering whether she should say what was on her mind. "If we wished to severe the bond, we would have to do it soon. At the rate it is developing it will soon only be able to be severed by death."

Trip didn't know what to say, he had just been told that he could be T'pol's mate until 'death do us part.' But then she had said it could be severed now….. Was that what she wanted?

"Do you want us to severe the bond?" Trip asked anxiously.

In the few seconds that it took T'pol to answer Trip thought his his heart would explode from the stress. "I wish for our bond to remain." she finally answered "Do you wish for it to be severed." T'pol asked, apprehension tinged her voice.

"Hell no." Trip responded forcibly. "You know how I feel about you, breaking it hasn't even entered my mind." Trip answered honestly. T'pol released the breath she hadn't even realised she was holding, it surprised her just how much she had wanted the bond between Trip and herself to remain.

The two fell asleep soon afterwards. Trip's arms encircling T'pol protectively whilst T'pol lay partly across his chest, her head resting over his heart. It was completely obvious how the two felt about each other, their body language only standing to re-enforce the fact.

* * *

Thanks to all who reviewed last time, motivated me to write some more. 

I've got quite a few chapters after this which are more or less ready to publish.

Want a clue?- The Romulan threat soon becomes the least of Enterprise's worries as one of the crew is abducted and time is running out to save them. Want me to update faster so you can know who? Well see that nice pretty review button...


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note 

Thank's for all of the review's, as promised i've updated faster.

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Chapter 7 

All of the senior members of Enterprise, plus Sovek met in the situation room bright and early. The Captain having received an answer from Starfleet regarding the apparent Romulan threat.

Captain Archer related what he had been told. It seemed Starfleet agreed that the Romulans could pose a future problem, however they didn't believe destroying a weapons facility was the answer.

Firstly the Intel had come from an unknown source.- Archer had accepted Sovek's wishes and not told his superiors from whom he had received the information from. This Archer believed wasn't the main reason for Starfleet's unwillingness to get involved. The main reason being that if they were to take action it would surely be considered an act of war by Earth. Earth and its people were not ready, nor did they want another war.

The Xindi conflict was still fresh in people's minds and with the recent Terra Prime problem, Starfleet was just managing to justify Enterprise and Columbia's mission of exploration. No one on Earth would support a planetary war.

"So what's going to happen about the Romulans?" Trip inquired.

"Officially Starfleet will continue to observe any threat to Earth and take the necessary action. Unofficially it is just hoping the danger will go away. " The Captain replied.

"Your government is fooling itself captain." Sovek stated. "War is inevitable; ignoring it will only cause the numbers of lives that will be lost to increase. Your leaders are fools Archer." Sovek said bluntly as he left the room.

"Took that well didn't he." said Trip

"I don't entirely disagree with him." said Archer "The threat from Terra Prime is putting a lot of pressure on Starfleet. They can't be seen to be getting into conflicts with other species, even if they pose a great threat." Archer stated.

Trip and T'pol knew more than anyone the lengths Terra Prime could go to. The incident months ago with their daughter a shining example of humanities darker side. If Sovek was right about the Romulans, and the officers believed he was. Then Terra prime could be indirectly responsible for Starfleet's and Earths' failure to protect itself against an alien race. The poetic irony not passing the crew of Enterprise by.

Archer was the last person that wanted war. Never wanting to go through anything like the Xindi conflict ever again, but if the Romulans were such a threat, Earth needed to take action… and soon.

"We have been ordered to continue our Exploration, it just so happens the next system the Admiral authorised us to explore is very close to the co-ordinates Sovek provided."

The officers knew exactly what Archer was implying.

Archer continued. "We are to strictly gather information about the system, if it just so happens that Enterprises' sensor's take some readings of a previously unknown outpost that just happens to be Romulan then so be it." Archer said, a small smirk apparent on his face. He didn't like all the secrecy but if that's what it took to make sure that Earth would remain safe, then so be it.

"We must be very careful though. If the Romulans suspect that we are in the system for any other reason they may attack. I don't want to face that risk." Archer told his officers.

"Travis, when you get to the bridge set a course; warp four point five." Mayweather nodded.

"Ok, everyone dismissed."

* * *

Enterprise had been travelling through the blackness of space for around two days now. The stars from the perspective of the people on Enterprise were streaking by at incredible speeds; the crew getting even closer to their destination. 

Hoshi was working late, her shift having finished hours ago. She was still in the middle of updating the translation matrix- a job she could not exactly leave half finished. Her console beeped indicating Enterprise had detected an incoming signal.

Leaving her work for the moment she picked up her earpiece and listened to the message, her eyes opened wider as she listened to the signal. Pressing a sequence of commands, she contacted the captain and relayed what she had heard. "I'll be right there." was his only response and within minutes, he had arrived on the bridge.

Malcolm was in the gym when the call for all senior officers to report to the bridge came through. He placed down the weight he was lifting and hurried to the bridge. '_What's gone wrong now?' _His only thought as he entered the turbo lift. Somedays he would like to be able to go a week without some major catastrophe from happening. There was no chance of that happening though, this ship was Enterprise and it was like a magnet- attracting all the trouble you could find in the galaxy. Still if he had to admit it, he enjoyed some of the situations they got themselves into; he thrived on the uncertainty and danger.

Stepping on to the bridge, he saw the rest of the officers; they were apparently waiting for him. Seeing that his security officer had arrived the captain started to fill everyone in on what had occurred.

"Within the last fifteen minutes. We received a distress signal from a Tellarite ship; not too far from our position, their systems have failed and they are coming very close to a gas giant whose gravity they can't overcome."

"Do we know how bad their systems are Cap'n?" Trip asked.

"No, all we received was a rather distorted distress signal in Tellarite. We have no idea how or why their systems failed, or if there are any casualties".

"T'pol and Trip I want you to offer assistance when we rendezvous. Assess how bad their system's are, and find out if you can do anything to help. I have asked Phlox to prepare for any casualties.

"Captain, I wish to offer my services also." said Sovek stepping off the turbo lift having heard most of the conversation.

"I told you the bridge was off limits." replied Archer ignoring what the Vulcan had said.

"I apologise Captain, however I believe I can help with your situation. I have been on various Tellarite ships and know their systems. It would speed up the repair time."

Archer considered this for a few seconds "You can help Trip and T'pol our ETA is in thirty minutes; prepare what you need to assist you."

"Thank you Captain." Sovek responded.

Thirty minutes later Enterprise slowed to impulse. They had attempted to hail the Tellarite vessel but had been unsuccessful. T'pol tried to scan the interior to detect any life signs but was somehow being prevented from doing so. She assumed the gas giant was interfering with her readings and thought nothing more of it. She managed to scan the exterior though, and found that the docking ports were incompatible with enterprise or her shuttle pods.

"Captain it appears we will have to beam over. We will not be able to dock." T'pol informed the Captain.

"Ok, be careful over there." Archer responded.

"Aren't we always Cap'n" said Trip a grin on his face.

Archer rolled his eyes. If there was trouble to be found the commander would find it. It was a well-known fact aboard Enterprise that Phlox often joked that he had reserved a bed entirely for the engineer. This was due mostly to the fact that usually Trip spent more time in sickbay after an away mission than essentially on the mission itself! Archer just hoped this wouldn't be one of those times, he didn't realise how wrong he actually was.

Trip, T'pol and Sovek stood on the transport platform. Trip nodded over to the Ensign who was operating the controls, the young woman pulled down the lever and activated the transport. The molecules of the three were broken down and they re-materialised on board the Tellarite ship.

The scene they were met with could not be more different from what they were expecting. They didn't even have time to respond before each of them were hit directly in the chest, their bodies falling straight to the ground. Out of the shadows, a figure stepped forward, a weapon still trained on the three. A crude smile appearing on their face. "I told you this wouldn't be the last time we met, Sovek."………

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To be continued... 

Yes, I know i'm mean to keep you in suspense. Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Sovek awoke disorientated and with a pounding headache. His hand immediately came up to his chest and he felt around for where he was shot. His chest felt slightly bruised but that was all. 'Must have been a stun weapon' he murmured to himself, he looked around the rest of the room; he managed to make out two more shapes lying sprawled on the ground, "T'pol", he gasped as he moved over to her; he felt for a pulse and found a strong heartbeat. Her eyes fluttered open and locked with his.

"Are you injured?" he asked sincerely.

She did not respond instead she took in her surroundings. She looked over to where Trip lay and quickly moved over to him.

"T'pol I asked if you were injured." her father said, repeating the question.

"I am fine." was her very human response as she checked Trip's breathing and heartbeat, he was safe but the effect of the stun weapon was more severe on him. He was human and therefore not as strong as a Vulcan was. He would need more time to recover. She sat down next to him and stroked his face, pushing a lock of messy blond hair off his forehead. Her father was confused by the action.

"Do you know who shot us?" T'pol asked, addressing her father and breaking the silence.

"I do not, however I believe that they were not in fact Tellarites."

"Indeed."

"T'pol, we have not talked since my return. I wish to know whether you accept my reason for misleading you."

"It was the only logical thing to do." T'pol stated.

"That is not what I asked. Could you forgive me for what I have done? It was never my intention to… hurt you."

T'pol thought back to what Trip had said. 'You've got a chance many people would do anything for; you've got your dad back.' T'pol could not argue with this logic, she was thankful her father had returned, despite how it had come about.

"I forgive you."

The words left her mouth before she had time to consider what she was saying. If she had to admit it though she had spoken the truth.

Sovek's features softened somewhat.

"You don't know what that means to me T'pol. I wish to know what has occurred to you in the time that I have been away."

"There is over forty years to inform you about."

Sovek looked around the cell they were being kept in. The 'room' appeared to have only one door- there was no other way out. The door also appeared to have no handle or locking mechanism on the side they were being kept on. It must only be able to be opened on the other side Sovek theorised.

"It appears we will not be going anywhere for some time." he responded eyebrow raised. T'pol couldn't argue with this.

"Before you begin, tell me of your mother, is she well?" Sovek's innocent comment elicited a change in T'pol's features, one that many wouldn't have recognised, except to those that knew the Vulcan closely. Despite the fact that he hadn't seen her in so long he was still attuned to her facial expressions.

"Mother died last year, she was killed during our search of the Kir'sha'ra ." T'pol responded solemnly.

Sovek was quiet for some time, processing what he had just heard. He didn't know what he had expected, hearing about his wife's death though was near the end of the list. A part of him had always hoped he would return, be with T'Les again. All of his problems solved and able to return to the life he had before. He knew it was illogical but he couldn't help it. He felt the torrents of emotion welling up inside. He put the news to the back of his mind, he couldn't become emotional now. Not in this situation, he would deal with the revelation later.

"Tell me what has occurred since I left." Sovek spoke again, his voice quiet and pitched with emotion.

T'pol did as instructed and began recounting the simplified version of what had occurred in the last four decades. It had surprised him how much she had been through. He resented the fact that he had missed so much. About two hours later when T'pol was just about to start discussing her assignment to Enterprise Trip began to stir.

A groan escaped his lips followed by a string of curses. "One mission, one mission that's all I ask for where I don't get captured or kidnapped." Trip started to rant as he sat up. He stopped as a wave of pain and nausea hit him, he grabbed his head in response.

"T'pol are you ok?" he asked.

"I am fine." she assured him and continued "The pain should subside soon."

"Good. It feels like I just got run over by a shuttle pod." he replied. T'pol raised an amused eyebrow at his comment.

Sovek watched their interaction with interest. They both showed concern for each other. The commander especially, that did not make sense to the older Vulcan. He had gotten the impression that the only person Tucker cared about was himself. Yet he was more worried about T'pol and how she was than himself.

"Where are we?" Trip asked

"It seems we are in a cell on the Tellarite vessel." she responded

"Enterprise knows where we are. They'll get us back." Trip said, trying to reassure himself more than anything.

As Trip finished talking the door to their cell opened, it's hinges creaking. A figure stepped forward, their face hidden behind a mask and a gun pointed directly at the three.

"Come with me Vulcan." The masked figure spoke, their voice distorted.

Sovek stepped forward, about to follow. "Not you, the female." the voice said again, this time indicating to T'pol.

"You want someone take me." Trip snarled, standing in a protective stance in front of T'pol. All of this earned him was a knock on the side of his head from the base of the gun, which their captor held. Trip attempted to stand up again.

"Trip, stop. I will be alright." T'pol stated, her finger's making brief contact with Trip's hand, with that she was led away. The Door banged shut behind her and the cell was plunged into silence.

Trip moved over to the door, his hands searching for any hidden catch, anything that would get the door open.

"Your efforts are futile Tucker." Sovek stated

"I don't see you doing anything to help. I mean she's only you daughter it's not like she matters". That sarcastic comment from Tucker hit a nerve with the already emotional Vulcan. Sovek thrust Trip against the wall.

"I am her father, I care about her welfare. However I am unsure as to why you are concerned, perhaps if some thing happens to my daughter you would be left without any one on the ship with which to break fraternization rules. Did all the other women on the ship turn you down commander?"

Trip frowned in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do not play innocent with me commander, I have seen you with my daughter. Visiting her quarters late at night, sometimes not even fully clothed. Leaving her quarters early in the morning so as to not get caught. I know your type Tucker. Your actions on previous missions prove what you are like. The incident with the princess, the time when you became pregnant. I don't know how you tricked T'pol or why she is worried with your well-being."

A look of realisation came over Trip's face. From an observer it would have looked very suspicious. Him turning up at T'pol's quarters at all hours, and as for the previous missions he had been very reckless back then. The Xindi incident had stopped that and in many ways made him grow up.

"It's not what you think." Sovek didn't relax his grip on Trip even slightly.

"I'm in love with her."

Sovek frowned "You lie."

"No! Lying would be saying that I don't think about her constantly. That I don't wonder what's she's thinking about, or what she's doing. And that I'm not so completely and absolutely in love with her that last year I had to transfer to another ship because I couldn't stand not being with her!" Trip shouted, twisting out of Sovek's grip and walking over to the other side of the cell.

Sovek was actually speechless, could what the young engineer said be true? What reason would he have to lie?

"She was having nightmares." Trip said a few moments later.

Sovek looked confused. "That's why I was at her quarters, she was scared. I was just trying to protect her." Trip finished.

Sovek took a few moments to consider what the Commander had said. The Vulcan was embarrassed to admit that his emotions had overtaken his logic. He thought he had found a balance but he apparently hadn't. He jumped to conclusions without properly analysing the facts. He let emotions dictate his actions, that was one of the reason's Vulcan's strived to suppress emotions, perhaps they were right to do so.

"I apologise Commander… It seems I misjudged you." Sovek said sympathetically

"I would have probably done the same. But to be honest I don't really give a crap about that right now, we need to get T'pol and get out of here. " Trip replied.

The two searched the sparse room, they found nothing. Sovek even tried to knock down the door but his efforts proved unsuccessful. Trip sank to the floor and held his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and tried in vain to reach out with their bond to try to sense her, he had never attempted to contact her before and didn't really know what he was doing, he couldn't sense her. He kept telling himself it was because the bond wasn't strong enough or that she was too far away. He was terrified to think of the other reason why he couldn't reach her. He didn't allow himself to think anything other than that they would all make it out of here alive, he needed to stay positive. He needed to believe T'pol was still alive!

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

T'pol was led around the ship's corridors, arriving to what she could only assume was the bridge. She was thrust towards a console, an alien weapon digging into her lower back. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, there were barely a handful of people, hardly enough to run and control a ship like this. However every figure she did see had their features hidden behind a rather crude mask, her guards included. T'pol had tried to figure out which species had abducted her, Trip and her father but as of yet she had no answers.

"Your ship has been attempting to contact you." A harsh, yet commanding voice spoke behind her. T'pol turned around. He, unlike the others wore no mask, no disguise to hide his species. Her eyes landed first on his face, a jagged scar was etched upon his left eyebrow, other than that his features were flawless. He appeared to be in his mid thirties by human standards. Her eyes travelled from his face to his ears. Even with her emotionless Vulcan mask she couldn't hide the look of shock that crossed her face

"You're Vulcan." she stated.

A look of hatred glowed within his eyes, "I am nothing like your species." he spat "On the outside I may appear Vulcan, but that is where the similarity ends. My appearance was altered for the benefit of the Empire's mission."

"You're Romulan" T'pol continued, her tone accusatory.

A small smirk appeared upon his features. "Yes" he simply replied.

A wave of realisation hit T'pol, suddenly it all made sense. The Romulan's had always been very secretive, Starfleet and Vulcan never seeing their true features; despite coming into contact with them on several occasions. The only true contact between them being brief audio messages. That explained the masks, they no doubt wanted their identities to remain a secret.

As for her and the others abduction, well Enterprise was travelling to a suspected Romulan base, why wouldn't there be Romulan's in the area, albeit travelling under the guise of being Tellarite but still. T'pol briefly looked around the bridge, parts she recognised as Tellarite whereas other parts were technology she couldn't identify. A thought passed briefly through her mind. T'pol had heard many colloquial and very Human phrases during her time aboard Enterprise and 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' seemed to describe this situation and ship very well.

"Vulcan you are going to be helping us." The Romulan continued, interrupting her thoughts.

T'pol narrowed her eyes, did they actually believe she would willingly help them? "And if I refuse?".

The Romulan looked back at her, a look of amusement apparent on his face. "You will help us, of that have no doubt." he said, a conniving smile on his face, as if laughing at an unknown joke.

"Firstly you will tell your ship that you and the others are well, and that you will need to stay on this ship for at least another day, during which time you will not be able to communicate…. If you do not comply, one of your companions will be harmed." He spat threateningly, passing the familiar Starfleet communicator to her.

T'pol took the communicator; her mind conflicted over what to do. If she didn't do what her captors said then it was quite possible her, Trip and her father would be killed. However on the other hand they could be killed anyway and the people on Enterprise could meet the same fate if she didn't warn them. 'The needs of the many'.. - Surak's well known teaching briefly flickering through her mind.

T'pol looked around the room once more, trying to locate anything which could help her, something which she could use against them, she knew her efforts would no doubt prove to be useless but she tried anyway. Her eyes settled on a console in the corner, her superior eyesight identifying the images and specs. The language was unidentifiable to her but she got the 'gist' of what it did. She had one more option available, one to save everyone she loved, whether she would survive it was another question. T'pol had decided what she needed to do.

She opened up the communicator and signalled Enterprise, Jonathon Archer's voice reached her ears within seconds.

"T'pol, are you and the rest of the away team ok?"

T'pol looked over to her captors, two had gun's pointed directly at her. If she was going to act she needed to act soon.

"The Tellarites said you were busy with the repairs." Archer said "And that's why you were unable to contact us" he continued.

T'pol moved ever so slightly over to the console and to one of the guards. She risked a look at the Romulan 'Vulcan'. He appeared to be watching her actions intently, strangely it seemed he was choosing to ignore her movements.

"We are unharmed Captain." she moved a little further over to the console and the one guard, the other guards non the wiser.

"The Tellarites said you needed a further twenty four hours, is that true?"

T'pol paused and looked at one of the weapons pointed at her. 'forgive me Trip.'

"Captain it is a trap, we have been taken prisoner. Enterprise is in danger," as the words spilled from her her mouth the weapon closest to her discharged, it's pulsating beam aimed straight at her.

T'pol dashed out of the way, the beam cutting into her shoulder, she ignored the pain and launched herself at the guard, he fell to the ground, dropping his weapon. He reached for it but she was quicker, she didn't have time to hesitate and so pulled the trigger. The weapon had been on stun, the guard lost consciousness.

"T'pol? T'pol? Please respond" Archer's voice cut through weapons fire.

* * *

Aboard Enterprise the sounds of weapons fire echoed around the bridge, Archer immediately ordered his chief of security to raise shields, and to bring the weapons system online. He didn't know what the hell was going on but he didn't like the sound of it. 

"I want them beamed off that ship now!" Archer demanded of the officer manning T'pol's post. As the words left his mouth the bridge of Enterprise shook with such a force that Archer was nearly knocked to the ground.

"Report."

"Shields are at 65 percent, I am returning fire."

Reed proceeded to fire at the enemy ship, Enterprise's phase canons impacting the Tellarite ship's hull.

"Brace for impact." the security officer cried out

An array of torpedoes hit enterprise, members of the crew were thrown around like rag dolls. Throughout the ship, consoles erupted in flames, crewmen rushed around extinguishing the fire's and helping others who had received injuries.

Down in engineering, Commander Kelby, who had been left in charge during Trip's absence was co-ordinating teams to deal with the damage. He had sent the injured crewmen to sickbay, the others he had immediately put to work on fixing the damage. His eyes briefly drifted over to Lieutenant Hess, she had a small gash on her forehead, but fortunately, that seemed to be the extent of her injuries. She was working furiously to get the plasma relays deactivated to prevent an overload. She looked over to him and gave him a brief smile, which he returned, reassuring each other that they were both ok.

Kelby surveyed the rest of engineering, looking to see where he could provide the most assistance. He was about to climb the ladder to the upper level, to assist one of the newer Ensign's as he felt Enterprise jerk sharply starboard, another wave of weapons fire impacting the hull. The warp core shuddered, the Commander turned sharply around, he didn't even take the time to consider the consequences of what he was doing as he threw himself at Anna Hess. She was pushed, not so gracefully out of the way, the console she had been working on blowing up, showering him in sparks and metal debris. He thought he briefly heard her call his name as he fell to the floor, "...I knew I should have asked Anna to movie night." his last coherent though as he lost consciousness.

"We've received direct damage to the warp core, we can't even reach warp 1." Reed informed the bridge crew analysing the data in front of him.

"Can we beam the away team back?"

"I can't get any reading's of the interior." The nervous ensign manning T'pol's station responded.

* * *

The com channel was still open and T'pol could hear her replacements problem. Enterprise's retaliation had worked in her favour, the guards had all been knocked off their feet, she looked over to the far left of the bridge. The console in the corner was blocking all scans, it was what had prevented her from getting any information about the interior earlier. 

She moved to get to it but was tackled by one of the guards, she landed hard on the floor. A fist was brutally knocked into her face, but she fought the darkness that was trying to engulf her. She fought back. She needed to save Trip and her father, they were depending on her. That thought gave her strength as she ran over to the console. She took the gun in her hand and fired, flames and sparked erupted from the machine. The elation she felt was only momentary. She didn't have a chance to see the Romulan get up and fire his weapon.

In her last seconds of consciousness her sensitive ears picked up the Romulan's voice. "…just as we were predicting." T'pol didn't have time to reflect on what this meant as her world went black!

Aboard Enterprise the ensign began noticing a change in the data. "I have a lock captain."

Archer turned sharply around "Beam them aboard." A nod was all he received.

"Transporting."

"Captain the ship just entered warp." Reed interrupted "We can't even reach warp 1, we can't pursue." He stated

Captain Archer nodded grimly and apprehensively asked the question that was on everyone else's minds.

"Did we get them?"

The young officer looked down at the data coming from the transporter room her features saddened.

"We only received two." she said

"Who?" Archer demanded

"Commander Tucker and Sovek. The realisation of what that meant struck the bridge crew.

"Commander T'pol is still on the Tellarite vessel sir."……

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To be continued...

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Author's note

Thanks for all the reviews, much appreciated. I know it's another cliffhanger but you'll be happy to know I have around eighty percent of this written and ready to publish. Also I know I might be getting ahead of myself a bit, but i've already started planning a possible sequal entitled **masquerade.** A fic which will hopefully be as well recieved as this.

Please review, I may even update faster!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note 

Thanks to all of you who reviewed, your reward is a faster update.

* * *

Trip looked around at his surroundings, seconds ago he was being thrown around his cell - the result of weapon's fire, and now he was standing in the middle of Enterprise's transporter room. He looked over to Sovek to confirm the Vulcan was uninjured and then looked back to the Transporter pad. 

"Where's T'pol?"

Trip moved quickly over to the com panel, "Cap'n, where's T'pol." he questioned. Recently whenever he was aboard Enterprise he was always aware of a slight presence in the back of his mind. Now he felt nothing, it was like a part of him was missing.

Internally waves of worry and fear flooded him, this time they were his emotions. He kept his voice clear, suppressing all remnants of what he was feeling. Worrying was not going to help her.

The Captain's response to the young engineer's question was almost instantaneous, "She's still on the ship Trip, we couldn't beam her over in time. They have her."

Trip's stomach tied itself up in knots, he felt as if his worse nightmare was coming true. "Why aren't we following them?" he asked.

"Our engines were damaged in the fire fight, we're trying to fix them. What the hell happened over there Trip?" asked Archer.

Trip didn't speak, he didn't think he could if he wanted to anyway. As soon as he heard that Enterprise wasn't following he had shut off. He needed to go, go and help fix the engines. Do anything to help. Every second he was standing about doing nothing, T'pol was with her captors, having god knows what done to her. Trip didn't say anything, instead he started jogging down the corridors leading to engineering. Sovek moved over to the com panel and was left to deal with the Captain.

"As soon as we were transported over we were shot with some sort of stun weapon." Sovek began "We awoke in a darkened room, soon after T'pol was taken. Our captors were not Tellarite, merely posing as them."

Sovek hated that he hadn't done something. What kind of father lets his own daughter get taken? he demanded of himself. Even though their captors were armed he could have at least tried. He continued to relate the events that had happened.

"The next thing we were aware of was the ship being attacked, and then we were transported back to Enterprise…. I would like to offer my assistance in finding T'pol, captain." He finished.

"We could use your help." the Captain admitted "Am I right to assume that Trip is down in engineering?" Archer asked already knowing the answer.

"You are indeed correct."

* * *

As soon as Trip entered Engineering he found Lieutenant Hess issuing orders. He moved over to her. "Where's Kelby?" he inquired. Even with the recent problems he had had with Commander Kelby he still considered him to be a talented engineer and a good person. They had got passed recent events - mainly Trip's transfer and the incident with the Orion's and had fallen back into their normal, friendly routine. 

"He's in sickbay sir, Daniel saved my life." she answered referring to Commander Kelby.

"The console by me exploded, he pushed me out of the way, but was injured himself." She explained, her voice slightly quieter as she flashed back to what had happened.

She had turned around after hearing an ear splitting bang, she saw him lying there, a small trickle of crimson liquid running down his face. He had risked his life to save her, as she reached down to check his pulse she didn't think she had ever been so terrified of anything in her life. Praying to god she soon found a weak pulse and within minutes he was getting treatment in sickbay. She hadn't been able to see him, the repairs came first. It surprised her, and if she had to admit it scared her just how much she wanted to throw down her tools and run to sickbay to check on him.

"How is he?" Trip asked worried, even though T'pol's abduction was his main concern he wasn't about to ignore other people's welfare. He knew Hess well and her face displayed the emotions which he was feeling inside - worry, despair, sadness. There was a popular betting pool aboard Enterprise, something which made the sometimes boring missions slightly more interesting. Anna Hess and Daniel Kelby were the other 'couple' aboard the ship who were a favourite for Enterprise's betting pool. He and T'pol apparently still remained its favourite but apparently there were quite some good odds on his second and third in command getting together.

It was true that Hess and Kelby didn't meet eye to eye all the time, hell sometimes they even gave him and T'pol a run for their money argument's wise, but that was what gave them away, they argued as passionately as he and T'pol and Trip knew more than anyone else knew what that meant. Months before he had even heard of a Xindi he and T'pol had gotten into a 'disagreement' over something, halfway through their 'conversation' he had realised that it was movie night, but surprisingly he didn't care, he was having more fun just arguing with the science officer than he would have had if he attended the movie! He was falling for the Vulcan, plain and simple. Trip's chest tightened at the thought of the young Vulcan. His heart throbbed for his kidnapped mate. He should have done more to stop them from taking her. He should have fought them harder.

"Phlox said that he should recover." Hess stated, relief tinged her voice.

Trip looked over to her and nodded. "What's our status?" he asked getting back to the point.

For the next few minutes he was brought up to speed on Enterprise's damage. It turned out the engine had been hit worse than expected. Several relay junctions had been fried, their circuits becoming fused together. A problem with the warp reactor was preventing a stable warp field from establishing and their main plasma junction had been ruined.

Enterprise had suffered far worse before, however all of these jobs would mean Enterprise would only be able to travel at impulse for the next four days. By that time any trace of the Tellarite vessel would have been lost and with it any chance of finding T'pol.

Trip had hoped a lot of the damage could have been easily repaired, luck unfortunately was not on his side today though. Trip started working immediately, if anyone could fix Enterprise's engines in record time it was her chief engineer. His thoughts strayed briefly to T'pol. Was she safe? How was she being treated?….Was she even still alive? Trip stopped his train of thought immediately. His work needed his full attention, speculation wouldn't get him anywhere. He turned back to his work, and began to repair the ship.

* * *

The first thing she became aware of was pain. Pain was surging through her body and overwhelming her senses. T'pol opened her eyes and squinted, she attempted to assess where she was, wherever it was it was dark, dank and cold. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, she couldn't make anything out. She moved slightly and waves of nausea struck her. She touched her shoulder where she had been shot, she felt a sticky substance on her clothing- blood. 

She gasped as pain once again hit her. This time she softly touched her face, it felt as if her nose was broken, she could taste blood.

She slowly stood, the pain became more severe. Taking a calming breath she moved gradually around the room. She used her uninjured arm to feel out for any objects, the room was bare. She walked over to one of the walls and sank to the floor, cradling her injured arm. T'pol had come to the logical conclusion that her efforts had more than likely worked, Enterprise was safe. She was unsure whether Trip or her father had been beamed to safety though.

She closed her eyes and tried to reach Trip with their bond, she couldn't sense him. This, she came to the conclusion was because they had been beamed off and were now too far away for the bond to work in her weakened state. She had to believe her father and Trip were safe and that they would come for her. A small part of her also reasoned that she couldn't sense her mate because there was nothing to sense, she refused to accept this as the truth.

She continued to sit, staring into the darkness for several hours. She had found out there was no way to escape from the cell she was currently being kept in. She had to rely on Enterprise for a rescue. T'pol hugged her shivering form, the room was freezing and every time she shook from the cold she aggravated her injuries. She had been considering what would be done to her now. She would have no doubt have angered her captors with her previous actions, would she be punished for it? Would they want information from her? T'pol had been tortured for information before, it was not an experience she wanted to repeat.

'…just as we were predicting.' the words she had heard from the Romulan 'Vulcan' echoed through her mind. She had heard them just before she had passed out, she hadn't had time to dwell on what it meant then, but now she did. What had they predicted? Was her capture all part of some plan?

The door to her cell opened interrupting her thoughts, light streamed in, a large, intimidating figure stood in the door way, he strode in an air of confidence about him. T'pol looked up at his features. It was the Romulan she had met earlier, he still had that arrogant, conniving smile plastered upon his face.

"You have caused me many problems Vulcan." He spoke, T'pol didn't seemed phased by this revelation and he moved on.

"My name is Telak , I will be dealing with you from now on." he slightly smirked. His name triggered a sense of déjà vu in T'pol. She had heard that name before…. but where?

"Have no doubt that you will face consequences for your actions. It will be in your interests to co-operate fully." He warned.

T'pol raised an eyebrow. "And if I do not cooperate?". The Romulan - Telak turned on his heel, he walked towards the doorway and reached down into his pocket, he threw an object into her cell- a silver sphere, which landed right beside her.

"You will help us, of that have no doubt." A hiss escaped the sphere and a misty white gas escaped into her room, the door banged shut. She started coughing, the gas entering her lungs, she attempted to crawl away from it but it was no good. She collapsed once more on the hard floor.

* * *

T'pol regained consciousness, aware that she was lying on what felt like an uncomfortable bed. She wasn't sure how long she had been out for this time. She attempted to move but it felt as if she was restrained, she pulled at one of her arms but it was trapped in place. She tried to move her feet they were restrained too. She opened her eyes but was only met with a dim haze, she looked around. She could just about make out a few misty shapes surrounding her, one she thought could be a figure, standing a few metre from her. She blinked to clear her vision but it didn't work, something had happened to her eyes. She couldn't see! 

One of the hazy shapes was moving towards her, he stopped at the side of her.

"Are you ready to comply now Vulcan?" He spat. T'pol looked up at him, she couldn't make any of his features out, but she recognised his voice. It was Telak, the Romulan from earlier.

" Were my companions transported off the Tellarite Vessel?" she questioned, even with her lack of eyesight she was still more concerned about the two than about herself.

She didn't receive an answer instead she was back handed across the face

"You will answer my questions Vulcan, not the other way around."

"As I told you earlier unless you want to come to more harm you will tell me exactly what I need to know." he continued, and T'pol could tell from the harshness his voice held that he was telling the truth. T'pol didn't respond. Instead she listened to her surroundings, her superior hearing picking up the hum of the warp engines. They sounded….. Different.

T'pol could identify several ships from the sound their engines made, Tellarite included. This was defiantly not a Tellarite ship. 'They must have transferred to a new ship when I was unconscious.' she assumed. She knew that her chances of being rescued had just severely decreased. She wouldn't lose hope though, Enterprise would find her, she had to believe that.

* * *

Back aboard Enterprise Trip had been practically working for three straight days, he hadn't stopped for more than a minute for food and had been relying on coffee to stay awake. He knew if he went to Phlox to get a stimulant he would be given a lecture about getting rest and then ordered to sleep for hours. He needed all available time which he could be using to be fixing the engines, he would sleep when T'pol was safe. The time he had put in had paid off though. Engineering was preparing to fire up the engines, they would have warp five within the hour. 

Sovek had come back down to engineering to offer assistance. He couldn't believe how much he had misinterpreted the Commanders actions previously. It was obvious how much he cared for T'pol, he was practically killing himself getting the engines back in shape solely to save her. The Captain was aware of his efforts and Sovek believed he had chosen to ignore it. Perhaps he knew attempting to stop the commander was a lost cause, or perhaps he wanted to get T'pol back just as much. The Captain also had seemed very concerned about T'pol, as was everyone else aboard the ship. It appeared his daughter had had quite an impact on this crew. He only prayed that they would see her again.

The hum of Enterprise's engines sounded throughout engineering, the warp core sprung to life and within minutes they were on the trail of the Tellarite vessel. Enterprise had been in contact with the Tellarite government and had been informed by them that the ship had been missing for over three years, its crew lost. An investigation had apparently been carried out but no information had been gathered.

All the crew on Enterprise were hoping that their missing officer would soon be found. It had been predicted that Enterprise would catch up to the Rogue Vessel within three days, those three days Trip had decided were going to be the longest three days of his life.

* * *

T'pol was thrown roughly back into her cell. The confrontation she had had days ago had been the first of many. Her initial assumptions had been correct, they wanted information, plain and simple. They had asked her many questions. 'How many vessels did Vulcan have?' 'What were the most vulnerable position's on an Earth ship?' to name a few. She had refused to tell them anything, she had found they didn't react well to her silence. Several new injuries on her face and arms could testify to that. She had overheard her captors talking, it appeared a slight beating was going to be the least of her worries soon…..

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

Three days had finally passed aboard Enterprise, during that time Trip had been ordered, and then threatened by both Doctor Phlox, and then the Captain to rest. Trip had managed to steal a few hours of sleep but every time the engineer closed his eyes, he dreamt of T'pol. The dreams were strange, but very vivid. It was as if he was her, and the dreams were from her perspective. She was being interrogated, Trip couldn't see her captors face's, or any thing else for that matter. It was bizarre - as if a fog was distorting his vision, however he was able to hear everything. They were demanding answers from her, threatening her for information, which could be very dangerous to Earth and Vulcan, if it got into the wrong hands. T'pol was resisting them and paying the price for her silence.

He had first believed that it had been the bond. After all he and T'pol had met in the white room and talked, even though they were on different ships! He could be…channelling T'pol; it could be possible, right? He knew it was more than likely just him getting his hopes up, wanting any contact with T'pol, even if it was bad. Regardless of that fact, he had still consulted every Vulcan text he could find about telepathic bonds. He even considered seeking advice from someone, Doctor Phlox or Sovek for instance. However, he knew the Vulcan would dismiss him as being foolish. Besides, he didn't think he wanted Sovek to know about the connection he had with his daughter, unless it was necessary.

As for Doctor Phlox Trip had dropped hints about the bond, not wanting it to become public knowledge. He believed the connection between him and his mate was something to be kept private; T'pol would have wanted the same thing. The doctor had informed him that his lack of sleep and over exertion had no doubt led caused the dreams and was to be expected. Phlox went on to remind the engineer of the nightmares he had had right after Lizzie - his little sister had died in the Xindi attack. Trip knew that the Denoblian was probably right, but that didn't quell the small part at the back of his mind that kept whispering that they were real.

* * *

After another restless night, Trip stepped onto Enterprise's bridge and was met by the apprehensive faces of the entire bridge crew. They were nearing the Tellarite vessel, and no one knew what to expect. 

"Have we scanned the vessel?" Trip asked, walking over to the captain.

"We're just awaiting the results." Archer responded, as the words left his mouth the science station's console, which Sovek was seated behind beeped.

Sovek's eyes scanned the readings, his face revealed nothing.

"Scan's show the vessel's engines and life support are offline… There are no bio readings." he answered.

"That doesn't mean anything. Sir I request to lead an away team to investigate." stated Reed.

"Permission to join him." asked Trip

Archer shook his head, "let Reed take care of this one Trip."

Trip's face expressed his unhappiness at his Captain's decision but he went along with it. Archer had heard many rumours on Enterprise's grape vine, ones concerning his chief engineer and science officer. He didn't know how true they were but there was something there and he couldn't let Trip's emotions get in the way - it was for the best.

"Watch your back Malcolm." The captain told him. The security officer acknowledged and left.

* * *

Malcolm had quickly compiled his team, Sovek was joining them, the team needed someone who knew the layout of Tellarite vessels and their workings, and Sovek was the obvious choice. 

The team stood on Enterprise's transport platform, within seconds their molecules were scrambled and then reassembled on the Tellarite vessel. Reed immediately raised his phase pistol, he scanned his surroundings for any dangers, and even though the scans showed no life signs, he was still going to be cautious. Confirming they were in no danger Reed split the team in two, two teams would cover the ship much quicker and time was not on their side. Reed instructed Sovek to lead their group to the command centre and within minutes, they were stepping on to the alien bridge.

Sovek walked over to a destroyed console, salvaging what he could of it, he soon found its use.

"I believe this is how our captors blocked your scans" he informed Malcolm.

"T'pol must have destroyed it, that's how we could beam you over." Reed supplied.

"Indeed." Sovek replied solemnly, if it hadn't been for T'pol it was more than likely he would still be being held captive, along with Tucker. She had saved their lives, possibly at the cost of her own.

Sovek walked over to another console and tried to access the data. A data screen appeared and he began to download the information on a portable unit. His eyes briefly scanned the data, nothing out of the ordinary jumping out at him. A nagging feeling licked at the corners of his mind, he looked around the room. Nothing was out of the ordinary, yet he couldn't quash the feeling that something was…wrong. Looking back down at the data being transferred to the unit, he let his mind stray to his daughter and the events that had led up to her capture.

His head swiftly snapped up, bringing him out of his thoughts. His superior hearing detected a distinctive, yet strange sound coming from the station one of Reed's men was using. The nagging feeling returned, full force, he scanned his memories. _'Where had he heard it before?_'. Realisation hit him.

Sovek pulled out the communicator, given to him beforehand. "Captain, Beam back the team immediately."

"Sovek wh…" Reed started to ask, before he was beamed away, right in front of the Vulcan. Sovek picked up the data unit, part of the computer memory downloaded upon it; a second later he was aboard Enterprise.

The second the Vulcan had uttered the word transport Archer had done what he requested, the captain would ask questions later. He wasn't going to put any more of his crew in danger.

Sovek moved quickly over to the transporter room's com.

"Captain move Enterprise a safe distance away from the Tellarite vessel, I'll explain in due time." Sovek instructed, his voice taking on an authoritative tone.

The Captain detected the urgency in Sovek's voice, not wanting to put Enterprise in danger, had no choice but to do what the Vulcan had said.

"Mr Mayweather, three quarter impulse. Any direction away from the vessel." Archer ordered.

Travis, Enterprise's skilled pilot nodded and adjusted Enterprise's position, moving Enterprise quickly away. An explosion abruptly ripped through the vacuum of space, orange flames occupying the space where the Tellarite vessel had once been. The shockwave sent debris flying in every direction, small fragments impacted Enterprise's hull and shook the ship.

"Report."

"The Tellarite vessel just exploded sir. If we'd stayed we would've gone with it. We left just in time." The Ensign at T'pol's station reported.

"Contact Sovek and Reed, tell them I want them on the bridge." Archer ordered of his communications officer. Hopefully now he could find out what the hell was going on, and especially why their only lead for finding T'pol had gone, quite literally up in flames.

* * *

T'pol had been transferred off of the ship earlier today; she couldn't find any indication of where she had been taken. Her eyes were still damaged and her loss of sight limited her finding out much at all. The loss of one of her sense however had led to the others becoming slightly more attuned. Her hearing replaced her eyes; she had listened to her surroundings when she had been moved, and from what she had heard, it appeared to be a meeting place for some of the galaxy's more questionable, and dangerous occupants. She had heard screams, shady deals and violent attacks taking place. This was surely not a place you would want to ever visit, but unfortunately T'pol didn't have a choice. 

T'pol had found that this place, wherever it was, was specialised in anything dangerous and illegal. That was one of the reasons she was currently hanging from chains, while an unidentifiable, liquid was slowly being absorbed in to her bloodstream, a drip attached to her arm. She had been trained to resist torture. To suppress pain, but every second the chemicals were being absorbed by her body it became more and more difficult. Her arms pulled on her restraints; she had been trying to get free, her superior strength giving her an advantage, but not much of one.

The 'doctor' who had given her the drip sounded as if he was enjoying its effects on T'pol

"You should have started to feel the effects now, I must say it is quite an effective mix. I made it myself." He gloated, his voice sickeningly cheerful. He was a Denoblian; his ethics however were the complete opposite of the rest of his species. He took pleasure in the pain that he caused others, a reason why he had been exiled from Denoblia.

T'pol ignored the Denoblian, blocking him out, her body ached all over but she ignored it, and concentrated on getting out of her restraints. They had become slightly looser and she knew this would be one of her best chances of escape, if only she could manage it.

"It targets specific neural pathways, the parts of the brain that controls emotion and for a short while the chemicals take away your control. It is surprising how different a Vulcan becomes with emotion, they experience so much, but fear is always the emotion that shows the most. They are more than willing to cooperate by then." The Denoblian grinned.

A figure entered the room with his distinctive Vulcan appearance and long jagged scar on his eyebrow marring his otherwise flawless features- Telak.

"Has it worked?" he uttered

The doctor nodded furiously. "What about my payment." he asked

Telak reached into his pocket and withdrew a small pouch; he threw it to the Denoblian. "Leave us now." Telak growled. The Denoblian looked upset to leave, he knew not to say anything though, he valued his life too much and so left.

"Are you prepared to talk yet Vulcan?" T'pol shot him a glare as menacing as a Vulcan could. Even after all she had been through, she hadn't stopped resisting. Telak took this in his stride; he walked over to T'pol and ran a finger across her face. T'pol pulled away from him.

"It is a pity you are choosing not to co-operate, I could have found a much more pleasurable purpose for you." he raised an eyebrow, "Shame" he muttered as he backhanded her across her face.

"You will co-operate, that is one thing I am sure of Vulcan." his lips curled slightly

"This way will just hurt far more". He pulled out a device from his pocket and touched T'pol's side; this time she couldn't suppress the scream, which escaped her lips…

* * *

Sovek and Reed had arrived on the bridge; the Vulcan was currently detailing what had happened on the other ship. 

"…Over time my senses have become extremely attuned to my environment, a skill that has worked to my advantage numerous times. My hearing especially is advanced" he informed them.

"When we were on the vessel I detected a very unusual sound being emitted from one of the consoles. If I hadn't heard it before I would more than likely ignored it. It took me a few moments to place it, I had heard it once before when I had visited a distant colony, a colony that was destroyed by the Romulans."

Sovek paused. His mind replaying the images that had occurred on the colony. Blood, screaming, bodies sprawled everywhere. Their limbs bent at crooked angles, or just missing. He had gone to the colony to elude a Romulan that was trying to track him down- Telak. The Romulan had activated a bomb just to try to eliminate Sovek; he had killed hundreds, many women and children included. Sovek had never forgiven himself for the event, if he hadn't had gone there hundreds of people would still be alive, he had only survived due to a lucky fluke.

"Sovek?" The captain interrupted his musings. Sovek was pulled out of his train of thought.

"I apologise Captain my mind was elsewhere."

The Captain continued, "So what you're saying is the Romulans have T'pol."

"Unfortunately yes, Captain. And I believe she is running out of time."

The Captain had come to the same conclusion, "we lost our only lead when the ship exploded. Do you have any idea where she would be taken?" He asked, the question directed at Sovek.

Sovek thought over the question for a couple of moments. "I believe there many be one place she could have been taken." He said inputting coordinates into the computer. The screen changed and showed its position relative to Enterprise, no information about the destination scrolled across the screen. It appeared it wasn't a very documented or explored region.

"We could get there in around four days at warp five." Sovek said reading the computers calculations.

Sovek hadn't revealed how he knew the place but the captain's intuition got the idea that it wasn't a place of fond memories for the Vulcan.

"Mr Mayweather set a course. Mr Reed make sure we are prepared, I get the impression we aren't going to be entering peaceful territories."

The captain couldn't be more right Sovek thought grimly to himself. On one hand he wanted to find T'pol, but he'd give almost anything not to find her where Enterprise was heading. He had experienced first hand the 'specialities' of the place. He wouldn't wish them on anyone. He prayed to a higher power that if T'pol was there she would be strong enough to resist them, to stay alive until they could rescue her. He still had nightmares of his time there, a part of him never fully recovering from the experience. He hoped his daughter would be different.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note

Unfortunatly i've got my exams coming up, (ARRGGHHHHHH!). This means I won't be writing anything until they finish, and that's in about a month's time. (YAY!) I have written the next chapter of this, but i'm not entirely happy with it - so you might not get an update for a good few weeks. However, as i'm not very good at revising (awful actually) there may be a new chapter a bit sooner.

Please Review, I love getting feedback!

Chapter 12

Trip hit the punch bag again, sweat dripped off his forehead. It was the middle of the night and he couldn't sleep… again. He had tried, but like before, every time he closed his eyes he saw her, and horrendous things were happening. He couldn't save her, couldn't get to her.

He had come down to the gym, for the last half an hour he had been taking out his anger on a punching bag, now splattered with flecks of his blood. He had cut and bruised his knuckles but he didn't care, he hit the bag again, and again. He flashed to the moment the Romulan took her, 'bang!' the bag was hit harder. He flashed to her being dragged away, 'bang!' the bag swung more violently. He flashed to what he thought was happening to her, what he would do if he found her captors, 'bang', 'bang', 'bang', the bag fell to the floor, Trip collapsing with it.

He broke down, all of the pain and anguish he had felt since her capture coming to the surface. He cried; tears of sadness, tears of burning anger, falling freely down his face. He cried for her, cried for her being taken away, cried because she was no doubt in pain, and he couldn't do any thing. With every tear that fell his grief lessened, only to be replaced with anger; an anger that wouldn't think twice about vengeance and could even contemplate murder. He was going to get her back….no matter what he had to do.

* * *

Enterprise arrived at the coordinates four days later, as expected. Trip was on the bridge the second they arrived. The entire bridge crew were experiencing a wide assortment of emotions, ranging from nervousness, to fear and anger. Everyone was aware that if this lead turned out to be a dead end, they would have no other means of finding Enterprise's first officer. The galaxy was a big place and the proverbial needle in a haystack applied, except this time the haystack was of infinite size. 

The captain had ordered Malcolm Reed to compile a security team; they would accompany him, the captain, Trip and Sovek down to the planet. Archer didn't want to take any chances, he had already lost one crewmember, and he didn't want to put any others in danger.

They had all been beamed down and were currently looking for any information. Everywhere the Captain looked some crime was taking place, or some shady deal was being made. Species of every kind, some he had never seen before walked past the group, the away team were fully armed, but this didn't faze any one. It seemed it was unusual to be here without a weapon, not the other way around.

"Captain, over hear." Reed called over to Archer.

Archer walked over to where his security officer was, he was talking to an Andorian, his blue colouring causing him to stand out from the crowd.

"He says he saw a Vulcan woman a few days ago being led by armed guards down the passage way down there." Malcolm indicated, pointing.

"I can take you exactly where they went… for a price." The Andorian sneered, his thin frame leaning closer to the two, giving the 'deal' that was about to be made more privacy.

Archer reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small bag of currency. He emptied some of the contents into his hand. "You'll get this when you show us where they went." He indicated to the Andorian, who quickly nodded, his antenna moving in turn.

The Andorian led them away. Archer considered what had just happened, he had met Andorians before. They were a very honourable species, and wouldn't sell each other out for money. The man they had met seemed as if he would sell his own mother, if he could get something out of it.

The group were led into a small room, containing several shelves of medical equipment; different sized jars held numerous different dead animals, all preserved in a thick, yellow liquid. The smell of chemicals engulfed everyone's senses.

"This is where they took her, now give me my currency." The Andorian said holding out his eager hand. Archer threw several small coins to the Andorian, who fumbled, barely catching them in his eagerness. He quickly looked down a crude smile breaking out and then he scurried away.

"How many I help you? Perhaps there is a remedy you require, or a poison if you prefer." A Denoblian recited walking into the room, his face eager to disperse his harmful concoctions.

"We are looking for a Vulcan female; we were told she was brought here." Said Sovek stepping forward.

The Denoblian's smile decreased slightly, he wasn't going to make a sale today, but perhaps he could make money some other way. "I remember her." he stated.

"They brought her to me and they paid for my services, I am unsure what they did to her then, but they all left a day later." he told them.

"What did they do to her? And where did they take her" Trip demanded, his entire frame screaming of a readiness to fight, if needed.

The Denoblian paused for a moment to consider something. "If it was worth my while I may be able to help, my skills are in demand. I need something for my time spent dealing with you."

Trip was about to advance on the Denoblian, but Archer held up his hand to stop him. He threw the currency to the Denoblian who caught it, a large, greedy smile breaking out on his face.

"Now help us." instructed Archer

The Denoblian smiled in response. He walked over to a shelf, and started rummaging about in a box. "They made me leave before I could see what happened, I didn't even see what my chemicals had done to her." he muttered, his voice sounding sad about that fact.

He pulled out a disk. "I recorded what happened."

Sovek snatched the disk off him. "Perhaps you could make me a copy." the Denoblian asked. He received a sick enjoyment of seeing people in pain. Sovek clenched his jaw and his eyes narrowed at the Denoblian.

"No? Never mind" the Denoblian said, and quickly walked back into the adjoining room, returning to where he had come from earlier. For someone so interested in pain he was extremely eager for no harm to come to himself.

Sovek looked at the primitive disk held loosely in his hand, the light reflected upon its shiny surface. Whatever was on it meant the difference between finding his daughter and not. "We should go back to Enterprise." Reed stated.

Archer acknowledge and flipped open his communicator. "Enterprise beam us out."…

* * *

The group arrived back on the Starship, Malcolm, Trip, Sovek and the Captain all arrived quickly on the bridge. Trip and Sovek immediately went over to a station and had soon accessed the data; the bridge's view screen came alive. 

"Are you prepared to talk yet Vulcan?" the voice echoed through the bridge's speakers, all attention became drawn to the main view screen.

The monitor showed T'pol, hanging by her arms from chains. Her uniform was torn in several places; and streaked with dark green blood. The quality of the recording wasn't excellent but the bridge crew could make out several dark bruises formed on T'pol's face, along with her numerous other injuries.

"Bastards!" Trip muttered staring at the screen, a look of revulsion and anger etched upon his face.

Her captor stepped forward. "A Vulcan?" Archer questioned. "T'pol's being held by a Vulcan?"

Sovek's eyes were fixed on the screen. "Telak?" he whispered. How was this even possible?

"You know this Vulcan? ." The Captain questioned.

"He may appear Vulcan but that is where the similarity ends. He has been genetically altered. You may remember I mentioned the Romulan's were experimenting with genetic research, one section of that dealt with physical appearance. Imagine the advantage it would give you if you could change your appearance and look like the enemy. You could get spies into influential positions in your enemies' government or military, you would have a significant advantage." Sovek informed the crew letting the information sink in.

"…And this Telak, he's a spy for the Romulan's" Archer asked..

"I almost wish he was Captain. He is much worse; he is one of the Empires most brutal men. He eliminates anyone that could pose the Romulan's a threat; he could kill thousands, millions without a second thought. When this war goes ahead he will no doubt be one of the men chosen to lead the attack, he will show no mercy and will use every means available to him to win…. I had thought him dead."

Sovek pointed at the screen, "Torture is one of his 'specialties'" he spat. "If we don't find T'pol soon there will be nothing left to find."

T'pol's scream met their ears, their conversation ended and their attention was drawn back to the screen.

"What the hell is he using on her." Trip said, referring to Telak. The Romulan's hand held a metal object, the light glinting off of it.

"The name escapes me but its purpose is to cause maximum pain, it overwhelms the senses, it feels as if every nerve ending in your body is on fire, it is a very effective weapon, few resist." Sovek answered, his experiences with it wanting to be forgotten.

"I can end this Vulcan, you help me and I will help you, I will let you go alive. Just tell me what I need to know." Telak spoke.

T'pol breathed heavily, the chains keeping her in an upright position. She knew Telak was lying. The second she gave him what he wanted he would kill her. Her emotional control had been taken away from her but she had experienced this before. Her experience with the Trellium and her bond with an emotional human giving her an advantage other Vulcan's didn't have. She was still suffering from torrents of emotions though. Anger was surging through her, squashing any fear she held deep inside.

"How about you help me out of these restrains and I do kill you." she snapped back. Her logical side of her was at this point nearly non-existent.

The bridge crew took some comfort in the fact that she was resisting, even fighting back.

Telak used the weapon in his grip and hit her side, her face scrunched up slightly; she wasn't going to show them she was in pain.

"Is that the best you have, I was told Romulans were to be feared, perhaps I was mistaken." she retorted

Telak appeared almost amused at her remarks. "You will help us in future T'pol" he responded, using her name for the first time. "You just don't realise it yet." Telak smirked, as if laughing at a private joke.

He moved over towards her and once again used the weapon on her, this time she couldn't hold it back and a scream escaped her cracked lips. Her body contorted in pain and she passed out, her chained armed causing her to dangle slightly off of the floor, the recording went dead…

Every member of the bridge crew had stopped breathing, to know that one of their crew, one of their closest friends had been captured was one thing, but it was another to actually see them being tortured for information.

Hoshi felt sick to her stomach. The video of T'pol had brought back memories of her time with the Xindi; she too had been tortured for information. Her experiences however paled in comparison to what was happening to the young Vulcan. Hoshi was normally a pacifist; someone who respected all life, but even she was finding herself not caring if T'pol's captors were killed.

"What are we going to do now?" Travis asked, "We have no idea where they've taken her."

"We're going to keep looking till we find her." Trip spoke, his voice hollow, lacking his normally cheerful tone.

Archer thought over what Trip had just said. Archer had informed Starfleet of T'pol's abduction, they had informed him before arriving that if this latest lead turned out to be a dead end he was to officially declare T'pol missing in action and continue Enterprise's mission. The Starfleet brass had deemed that enough time already had been spent looking and they were mot prepared to put Enterprise in any unnecessary anger.

Archer looked around the bridge; his gaze fell on the empty science station. T'pol had saved him, the crew and Earth on numerous occasions, he knew she wouldn't give up if their roles were reversed; why should he? Enterprise needed its first officer and so did her crew. For now, they would continue their search. He would deal with the ramifications from Starfleet later.

"Hoshi send out a missing persons on all frequencies, lets see if anyone out there knows anything." Archer ordered.

The communications officer nodded, she entered several different commands on her console and within minutes, a signal was being emitted from Enterprise.

"I've sent it in every language the translator recognises, and it's being repeated. Every ship in a hundred thousand kilometre radius will pick it up; hopefully we'll get a response."

"Good work Hoshi, all we can do for now is wait. I suggest every one returns to their regular duties." Archer informed his crew. He prayed that they would get a response soon, from what he had heard and seen every second T'pol was with the Romulans she was becoming even closer to her death at their hands. He would never forgive himself if that happened!


	13. Chapter 13

Author's note

Blackn'blue this chapters especially for you! Hope you like!

Chapter 13 

Trip practically sprinted down the corridor towards the bridge. It had been over two weeks since Hoshi had sent out the signal, and they had just received a response. During those two weeks, the Captain had been getting pressure put on him from the new Admiral, Forest's replacement. It seemed Starfleet couldn't 'risk' one of their warp five ships over the trivial matter of a person's life. The Vulcan's had also expressed their condolences, and said an investigation would be carried out. However, Trip had the feeling that both organisations had dismissed her as dead. A fact he would never accept!

The Captain had just contacted Trip over the com in engineering, and had been very brief about who had contacted them. All Trip knew was that their informant was named Kolot, and he had information relevant to T'Pol. Whether it was good or bad news he didn't know.

Trip entered the lift and arrived on the bridge in record time. He was met with the image of an alien very similar in appearance to humans, the only exception being that in place of a nose were two narrow slits. Kolot, Trip assumed. The alien was displayed on the main view screen and was in the middle of talking to Archer. Trip was able to pick up the end of the conversation.

"…..passed them days ago they were heading to an abandoned lunar colony."

Trip looked over towards Archer; the Captain had a genuine smile on his face. "We can't thank you enough Kolot for your assistance."

"It is my pleasure Captain, and I will send you the coordinates and schematics of the colony immediately."

Hoshi's console beeped, and indicated that the information had been delivered, she nodded to Archer.

"I must now depart Captain, I am glad I could help." The alien stated.

"Hopefully we will meet again." Archer replied.

Kolot paused "Of that I have no doubt Captain." he said and smiled, the connection terminating. A second later the Starfleet logo appeared upon the dormant screen.

Sovek was already analysing the data; plotting the coordinates, and determining the safest and quickest course.

The bridge crew waited with baited breath, "we will be able to arrive in four days at maximum warp." The Vulcan stated, answering the question Archer was about to ask.

"Are there any dangers we should know about?" inquired Archer, he wanted to rescue T'Pol but he wouldn't put over eighty people at risk.

"None that I can see, it is in a reasonably un-travelled area of space."

Archer acknowledged this, "Mr Mayweather set a course warp five."

"Yes sir." the boomer replied enthusiastically.

Trip left the bridge. In truth he didn't know what he was feeling, he was ecstatic about finding T'Pol, but he was also terrified about what they would find. He went straight to his quarters; his shift had officially ended when he was on the bridge. It was probably a good thing anyway. In the past two weeks he had almost certainly sustained more cuts, shocks and bruises in engineering from his mind wandering to T'Pol than in his first two years on Enterprise! And that was saying something.

He entered his quarters; work was scattered haphazardly across his desk, and spreading onto the floor. A plate of uneaten food lay on the side. Trip had lost his appetite in the recent weeks, but that hadn't stopped Chef from sending him ample amounts of food. Trip sat down on his bed, a padd in his hand. He had been reading the Kir'sha'ra, and was surprisingly quite a way through. He had started reading the book shortly after T'Pol was taken. It reminded him of her and it was almost as if a small part of him felt more connected to her just by reading it. There was also the reason that it eventually sent him to sleep! Not an easy feat considering every time he closed his eyes he experienced a nightmare concerning her. As an engineer he was used to endless boring schematics, but the Vulcan text was especially dry reading, however Trip had surprised himself by finding it quite interesting.

Several hours later his eyelids were flickering shut, the padd dropping slightly from his grasp, his breathing becoming calmer, and more peaceful.

* * *

T'Pol was thrown back into her cell; her body impacted the floor hard. She was bruised all over and had several different injuries scattered about her body. She curled up in to a ball, breathing in raspy breaths, her voice hoarse from screaming and shouting. Her emotional control was in tatters. She had been tortured for what felt like months… or it could have been years. She had lost all sense of time, not that it mattered though, she grimly reflected. 

Her captors had been attempting to get her to reveal information to them. It seemed she was the perfect candidate to gather intelligence from. She was a Commander in Starfleet, she knew schematics of all of Earth's warp five vessels, knew where to hit them, where to make the most damage. Also vast amounts of other information, which could highlight some of Earth's vulnerabilities. On top of all that she knew several confidential bits of Vulcan intelligence from her time in the ministry, information she had sworn to protect, which could be very damaging to Vulcan in the wrong hands.

A cry escaped her lips as she moved ever so slightly. Her torturers had developed many skills and technologies to get someone to talk, Vulcan's included. She had not broken yet, but she knew the next time they came for her she would. And then, then she would have outlived her usefulness and they would kill her. _'Maybe that would be for the best.'_ A small part of her consciousness whispered. If she had to admit it she had lost all hope of ever being rescued, she hated that fact, but it was true. Soon she would die, just after she helped the enemy, helped the enemy in their attack on her world and Trip's.

The thought of her human sent a lone tear rolling down her battered and bruised face. "I'm sorry Trip," she whispered into the darkness. "Sorry I couldn't be stronger, sorry I lost hope, sorry I won't ever see you again." she murmured regretfully.

"T'Pol?"

T'Pol slowly looked round her cell, did she just hear Trip? The sound of his distinctive southern accent quickening her heart rate. She dismissed it, she had hallucinated before, and that had been the cruellest interrogating of all. They had tricked her into believing she was back on Enterprise, back with Trip. This was no different.

"T'Pol? Was that you?"

T'Pol closed her eyes. "Please stop." she called out "This is cruel, stop, please stop." she whimpered, her voice quivering.

"T'Pol?" T'Pol slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings; she could barely make out the white room. The room she meditated in, a place of calm. She squinted behind her from where the voice had come from.

"Trip?" she whispered, hesitantly.

"Oh god dar'lin what have they done to you?" Trip cried, burning anger flowing through his veins. He took a step towards her; she could just about make out his shape, and in turn she took a step back.

T'Pol started shaking her head. "No, this isn't real, this isn't real, please stop, please stop." she pleaded with an invisible force.

Trip looked at T'Pol; his heart broke to see her like this. He walked towards her and captured her in his arms. "It's real T'Pol, I'm real, we've come to get you we'll be here soon." he soothed

T'Pol tried to resist him, struggling against him, trying to get out of his embrace. He leaned down and passionately kissed her, their bond strengthened and Trip sensed everything she was feeling. He took all of her uncertainty and fear and locked it away inside himself. T'Pol in turn felt his emotions, his love and in particular his anger at what had been done to her. It really was him, Trip had come to save her, rescue her like she knew he would. She collapsed in his arms, all of her energy depleted. "It's ok T'Pol I'm here, your safe here." he whispered to her. She held onto him, as if scared he would leave her at any second.

She shook her head. "I'm not safe. They will come for me tomorrow… I won't be able to resist them Trip, I'm sorry."

"T'Pol, you're the strongest person I know, Enterprise will be there within 3 days, can't you hold on?" Trip whispered, they had finally found T'Pol; he wasn't ready to let her go.

"I don't have any strength to resist them, when they come for me I will break and tell them everything and then they will kill me." T'Pol responded, sounding frustrated with herself for not being stronger. She hugged Trip tighter.

"I am sorry I couldn't hold on Trip. I am sorry I will never see you again."

Trip had tears in his eyes. "You don't have to apologise for anything dar'lin. I love you."

A slight smile graced T'Pol's lips "You made me a better person Trip."

A tiny grin formed on Trip's face, the smile however didn't reach his eyes. "That wasn't difficult." he responded, his voice cracking.

The two held each other, T'Pol grateful she had had time to say her goodbye. The white room flickered slightly.

"Our connection is weakening." T'Pol said urgently

"Don't leave me T'Pol" Trip responded.

"We don't have a choice." T'Pol responded sadly.

"T'Pol please don't go." He choked. "I love you darl'in"

"… And I you T'hy'la"

T'Pol leaned up to Trip, catching his lips with hers and in those mere seconds nothing else mattered, they were together, how it should be. The white room faded around them, the two lovers still trapped in their embrace. Their connection finally ended. T'Pol was back in her cell, and Trip shot up out of his bed within his quarters on Enterprise. Tears had stained their faces, and a part of them both knew that that had probably been the last time they were ever going to see one another.

Trip blinked, and touched a finger to his lips. It was as if he could still feel her lips on his, he could almost taste her. It had been real of that he would bet anything, it had to have been the bond. He pushed himself up off his bed. He'd be damned if he was going to lose her again. He stood up, throwing on the clothes closest to him. He didn't care what he'd have to do, what lengths he'd have to go to. He would save her, or he would die trying!

* * *

I am not sure when the next chapter will be out, but exams will be over within the next few weeks! Then i'll be able to write to my heart's content. 

Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

Chapter 14 

Trip was running down Enterprise's corridors, his heart thudding, and his legs pounding on the metal floor beneath. He passed the odd crewman, who each gave him the same confused look, but he ignored their stares, his only thought was of getting to Sovek's quarters. His eyes still stung from tears, but his determination brushed them away. He arrived at his destination, and pounded repetitively on the Vulcan's door. It opened soon after.

"Mr Tucker are you aware of what time it is?" Sovek began, sounding unimpressed at being interrupted so late at night.

"I saw her" Trip whispered, walking past Sovek and entering the room. "She was in trouble and we aren't going to get there in time." he continued.

Sovek lowered his head, "you most likely had a nightmare, particularly in times of great emotional stress they can seem very vivid, almost real….I have experienced something similar to what you described."

Trip shook his head violently in response. "I saw her, we were in the white room and she said we were going to be too late." He brushed the tears streaking across his face off with the back of his hand. "I know it was real. I've never been so sure of anything in my life" he continued.

"What you are suggesting is implausible, we have no means of contacting T'Pol, you have been under a lot of emotional pressure. I suggest you go back to your quarters and rest Mr Tucker."

"It's happened before while I was on Columbia. It was the bond." Trip answered back, his hands gesturing to his head.

Sovek was taken by surprise, even on the outside his facial expressions expressed it. "…You have formed a bond with my daughter?"

"We've had it for a few months, that's why I came to you. You're the only person on the ship who I thought would believe what had happened. I mean I assume you had the same thing with T'Les." Trip responded.

Sovek didn't answer. In truth he had formed a bond with his wife, a stronger bond than most Vulcan's, but he had never been able to contact her over large distances using it. Could what the commander be saying be true? He had only ever heard of small instances when Vulcan mates could use there bond to communicate with each other when separated. But even then it was limited. And how did this Human know of his wife?

"You know of T'Les?" Sovek questioned. He still found it hard to think of his wife, even though he hadn't seen her in over four decades. He kept asking himself the same question, over and over again, and as of yet he had not come to an answer. _If I had been there would she still be alive?_

"Yeah, I met her when I went to Vulcan." Trip responded, interrupting Sovek's train of thought.

Sovek opened his mouth to ask something more, but Trip stopped him. "We can talk about my trip to Vulcan later. All I want to know is if I there's some way I can help T'Pol. The ship can't move any faster, I've already got her going at warp five point two. I was thinking if there was anyway the bond can be used, anything that would help her…. Even if it only makes her a little more comfortable when…. ."

Trip didn't finish the sentence but Sovek knew what he meant. He still wasn't one hundred percent convinced the commander hadn't just dreamed his 'conversation'. But what if it was true? There was a chance his daughter could be saved, and he would do everything in his power to help.

"There is one way, I have only heard of it being performed once. I am unsure whether it would even work with a human."

"Well don't keep me in suspense." Trip responded.

"It uses the bond which mate's have. One gives up their own strength to their bonded partner. It allows healing and gives the one in danger a greater chance of survival."

"Ok lets do that." Trip answered immediately, not even thinking about what it entailed.

"Commander, you must understand I have very limited knowledge of this, it will more than likely fail. It will also put you in danger."

"That doesn't mean we can't try." Trip said determinedly. "Just tell me what I have to do."

Sovek considered Tucker's attitude, he was ready to risk his life for T'Pol. It appeared his daughter had made the right choice being with this human. It appeared T'Pol also felt as strongly, a bond would not have formed if both parties didn't feel something significant for each other.

"Very well commander." Sovek relented, he decided he would give the engineer the chance. He, in truth didn't believe it would work. The stories he had heard had detailed that the mate's were in close contact with each other, in this instance it was not the case. However Tucker had said he had spoken to T'Pol, if that was true the bond may be strong enough.

"You will be severely weakened by the process, you will need time to recover afterwards."

"The Cap'n gave me tomorrow off, said I needed time off since I've been working too hard." Trip responded. "There's nothing stopping us from doing whatever you suggested. Just tell me what to do".

"Very well commander, I will need to instruct you in the basics of meditation techniques for this to work. We do not have an ideal amount of time but it will suffice."

Sovek indicated to Trip to sit down, he sat and imitated T'Pol's meditation stance. "You will need to be able to clear your mind and reach out to her. Once you have done that I will inform you how to continue."

Trip closed his eyes, a look of total concentration apparent on his features. He followed exactly what Sovek was instructing him to do. He concentrated on his breathing, his heart rate and focused his mind solely upon T'Pol. As the minutes turned into hours Trip's determination soon turned into despair.

"Why the hell isn't it working?" Trip said breaking the silence of the room, he stood up and started pacing around the room. "I've done every damn thing you've told me, but nothing's happening."

"Mr Tucker, you need more patient. Vulcan's meditate and develop the skill all their lives, you cannot believe that you will master it in a few hours." Sovek answered, and slowly considered what he was about to say next. "Perhaps we should desist, it is highly unlikely that we were going to contact T'Pol, there is no point wasting time on a meaningless task."

Trip spun around. "No please I'll concentrate more, just let me try one more time."

Sovek listened to the engineer's plea, his logical mind telling him it was pointless to continue, but a part of him believed in the commander, "As you wish." he replied.

Trip sat, his entire being focussing, reaching out, blocking out everything but her. His forehead creased in concentration. His breathing slowed. Soon after he became aware of an almost invisible presence at the back of his mind, his heart rate quickened. 'T'Pol?' his consciousness whispered.

He thought he faintly felt her respond, he concentrated on making the connection stronger. 'Please let this work' he prayed. If he lost her he didn't know how he would cope. In the past few years he had depended upon her, she was his confidant, his friend, his lover. If she was gone he wouldn't have anyone, if her life ended so would his.

'Trip?' he heard her speak.

'Hey dar'lin' he choked, the emotions inside him building.

'How are you speaking to me?' she questioned, confusion slightly apparent in her voice.

'Your Dad helped a bit there' he whispered back almost afraid he would lose the connection with her. 'He said there was a way to help you. Give you enough strength to resist them until Enterprise comes…. I'm not going to lose you dar'lin.' Trip answered. He started to relate what Sovek had told him, T'Pol became surprised at their apparent solution.

'It will be dangerous to you. I am not willing to put your life at risk.' T'Pol stated, even in her condition she was still more concerned about Trip's welfare than her own. A fact which didn't pass Trip by.

'I don't care what happens to me, as long as it helps you.' Trip could feel her about to respond but cut her off. 'If I lose you then there I don't know what I'll do. Please dar'lin just try, if not for you then for me.' His plea worked and she relented. Trip did exactly what Sovek instructed; pouring his energies into strengthening the connection with T'Pol.

Their souls, their Katra's, their entire beings met, merging as one. What was his was hers, what was hers, his. Their mind's became one. It didn't matter that their bodies weren't together, their soul's were as one.

Trip had never experienced anything like it, he doubted any other human had either. Every thought, every memory, every emotion cascaded through him, flowing between them. He was in her head and she his. Trip could see what had been done to her, the overwhelming surge of anger, hatred and vengeance consuming him. _I should have done more to help her. _

_Trip there was nothing you could have done. _Her mind whispered soothingly back to him.

_I can help you now though dar'lin. _His consciousness answered. He could feel just how weak she actually was and it scared him.

Every minute they were connected T'Pol felt slightly better, whether it was just Trip's presence in her mind, or the fact that the bond was acting as a conduit, transferring his strength and energy to her she couldn't decide. She didn't even know how long they had been connected, minutes, hours…days? It didn't matter; time was irrelevant here.

Hours had passed aboard Enterprise. Sweat was forming on Trip's face and his form was shaking slightly, the strain being put on his body becoming visible. Sovek noticed this but chose to ignore it, he knew that even if he said something the commander would just ignore him. As even more hours passed Trip's figure was shaking even more violently. All of the colour had been drained from his face, his face now a pasty white complexion. Sovek knew he had to intervene now.

"Commander." Sovek spoke loudly, he received no response.

"Commander you must desist." he said once again, even louder this time.

Sovek reached out his arm and placed his hand on Trip's shoulder. The mere touch sent emotions bombarding into Sovek's mind, he pulledhis handquickly back, as if he had been burnt. Trip jerked back towards reality, his eyes blinking rapidly, he looked around as if to see where he was.

Sovek looked down towards his palm where he had touched the young engineer. The Vulcan was still reeling from the sensations and emotions he had felt. He had never know a Vulcan, or human for that matter who had affected him in such a way. Vulcan's were touch telepaths and were accustomed to feeling others emotions, the emotions they felt however were very basic and not at all strong. What he had felt when he had touched Tucker was very different. He looked over to the engineer, Trip was taking deep breaths to calm himself, some of the colour was coming back into his face. Whoever this Tucker was he was very unnaturally gifted… special. A lone thought entered Sovek's mind, _why?_……


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter! I was going to update this earlier, as a thanks for all those great reviews. However I was having problems uploading, they're sorted now though, so here ya go! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 15

T'Pol collapsed to the floor, the connection with Trip terminated. She inhaled sharply, and cold air entered her lugs, eliciting a slight shiver. She attempted to attain a sitting position, and moved to rest against the wall closest to her. Her body still ached, but she was feeling stronger than she had in the last few weeks, all thanks to Trip. Thoughts of the engineer traipsed through her mind, and sent waves of happiness surging through her. They had shared Katra's, soul's. It was one of the most sacred acts shared between her people - and she had experienced it with him!

A lingering though in the back of her mind whispered that it had all been a trick, a hallucination. After all how was it possible for a connection to form over such distances? T'Pol didn't have the answer, but her entire being screamed that it had been real. She would deal with the how later, as for now she just needed to get through the next couple of days. She could hold on for that long, couldn't she?

* * *

Trip willed himself to stand up, despite protests from his tired joints. His consciousness was still reeling from what had just happened. It was the most amazing and… surreal thing that he had ever experienced. He was in T'Pol's head, and they had shared thoughts, emotions - everything! 

"Were you successful?" Sovek inquired, breaking Trip's thought process.

Trip looked around at the older Vulcan, he only managed to nod in response.

"Are you well commander?" Sovek asked, a slight hint of concern entering his voice.

"I just need to lay down for a minute…" Trip managed to utter before his legs buckled underneath him, and he collapsed. Sovek caught him before he hit the floor, the Vulcan's superior strength managing the engineer's weight with no problem. The engineer was out cold.

Sovek moved the Commander over to his bed. The Vulcan had expected something like this to happen, it was a very draining experience. Thankfully the engineer merely needed to rest.

Sovek could still feel very powerful emotions emanating from the Commander, but nowhere near as powerful and overwhelming as before. The Vulcan's interest was peaked, he needed to keep a close eye on this particular human, look into the matter further.

For now T'Pol's rescue was his top priority, Sovek looked over toward the digital display showing the time. It was early, but he wouldn't be able to sleep. Sovek walked over to the doors, looking over his shoulder to the commander, who was now quietly snoring. Sovek raised an eyebrow, and stepped out into the corridor, perhaps he could check on how Malcolm's rescue plan was turning out.

The security officer had actually asked for his input. The Vulcan paused for a second, if anyone didn't know any better they would have assumed he was a member of the crew. It surprised Sovek how much he didn't mind being thought of in that way. It had only been a few weeks since he had arrived on this vessel, but he wasn't treated as a stranger. Perhaps he could have a future on this Earth vessel, with his daughter…… a new start.

* * *

Malcolm Reed went through the battle simulation for the third today. When it came to any mission involving the life of an Enterprise crewmember, mistakes were not an option. It were times like these when his background in section 31 came in handy. All of the secrecy, and subterfuge, that came hand in hand with the job, provided him with added skills, which would only serve to help the mission. 

He had located the best possible position to strike, organised the team that would extract T'Pol, and of course prepared many counter measures to ensure the mission was a success. He had been working with Sovek to get his perspective on how the mission could flow more smoothly. The Vulcan knew T'Pol's captor, knew his skills and weaknesses, proving to be a great help. Malcolm looked to the screen showing the end of the simulation, he was ready, Enterprise was ready. He only prayed that it was enough to save T'Pol.

On top of all his efforts with the rescue mission, the security officer had been reviewing all the data that had been collected, since T'pol had been taken. He had looked over all the schematics taken from the Tellarite vessel. The video footage of T'pol's torture at the hands of the Romulans. And of course the latest data of the base T'pol was supposedly being help upon. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt off. He didn't know why he felt that way, but something just didn't sit right with him. Anyone else would have passed it off as an overactive imagination, or his paranoia. But he had learned to trust his gut instincts, and he usually found them to be right.

* * *

Trip was awoken by the sound of incessant beeping, groaning he cracked open one of his eyelids - registering that he was in one of Enterprise's temporary quarters. The beeping continued, he opened his other eye and turned to the sound of the noise, it was the com. Grudgingly he sat up and moved over, pressing the necessary button's the voice of Captain Archer met his ears. 

"Trip, we're waiting for you in command, is there a reason why you're late?" Archer asked

Trip took a few seconds to mull over what the captain had said, this was his day off, there was a senior staff meeting, but that was scheduled for tomorrow. Trip looked over to the date, and time displayed on the computer screen. He had slept through an entire day! Thoughts of T'Pol littered his mind, the last thing he remembered was talking to her. He had… felt that she was feeling better, stronger. _I guess the connection with her took more out of me than I was expecting_ he absently mused.

"….Sorry cap'n, I guess I just overslept, I'll be there soon." he replied.

"Ok, just get here soon." Archer acknowledged, and shut off the comm. Archer was expecting something like this to happen, he was just surprised it hadn't happened earlier. The amount of time the engineer had spent working, it was only a matter of time before he burnt out. Tomorrow Enterprise would be carrying out T'Pol's rescue. He had all faith that once his first officer was returned, Trip's behaviour would return to normal. He wasn't sure what was going on between his two most senior officers, but it was defiantly more than just friendship.

A small bubble of jealousy rose up from the pit of Archer's stomach. Years previously he had briefly considered that T'Pol and he could have become more than friends, Phlox had even acknowledged the possibility. Even so it appeared Trip had beaten him to it. Archer couldn't blame his best friend though, it seemed T'Pol always had more of a liking for Trip than himself. Even though Trip would have never admitted it back then, the young engineer was attracted to the science officer as well. Yes they had more of their share of 'disagreements' but that was part of the attraction.

Their arguments were legendary aboard Enterprise, so much so they sometimes provided more entertainment that an entire movie night. Occasionally their 'disagreements' were so frequent Archer genuinely believed they were just doing it for the fun of it. They challenged each other, and passionately. And then there was the Expanse, that was when he really noticed the change in them. They seemed…closer. There were more of the longing glances, T'Pol was spending more of her free time with Trip. And of course there was the Vulcan neuro-pressure, something he had heard was quite an intimate procedure.

When he had heard Trip had gone to Vulcan with T'Pol - to meet her mother, by some accounts. He had thought maybe his best friend was in a serious relationship with his second in command, but then she returned married; confusing the hell out of Archer even more. Then when T'Pol did get her divorce, nothing happened between the two. If anything they became more distant, leading to what Archer had suspected was Trip's real reason for his transfer to Colombia. Even so, whatever had happened in the past, they seemed to have overcame it. The Terra Prime incident becoming the catalyst bringing them closer together.

Trip quickly appeared on the bridge, interrupting Archer's thoughts. The engineer's hair was still damp - from the quick shower he had taken, and his uniform was slightly creased. Trip made his quick apologies to everyone and Archer began.

The Captain moved over to the main screen, "we will be arriving at the lunar colony where T'Pol is supposedly being kept within the next twenty one hours. A rescue mission has been devised, now Malcolm if you will continue." Archer said nodding to his security officer. Malcolm walked over to Archer, and stood next to the main screen, continuing on from the Captain.

"The information we received told us that the colony was abandoned over twenty years ago. Many of it's system's were damaged but apparently are salvageable. If the Romulan's wanted somewhere to hide this would be the ideal place. It is very fortunate that we found out about it at all. When we arrive my team will take a shuttle down at these bearings." He said indicating the screen, the monitor showed the celestial body of the moon. A smooth curve showing the shuttle's path.

"Why can't you just transport down?" Travis interrupted.

Malcolm acknowledged the young pilot with a brief answer. "My first choice would have been the transporter but the moon's atmosphere will prevent a lock."

Travis nodded in understanding, and Reed continued.

"I've analysed the scans we received, and I believe if we take this route down the shuttle will be blocked from sensor's. We will in essence be invisible to them, they won't know what's hit them. My team will then arrive at the east entrance, the place closest to where they're most likely keeping her. And then the extraction team will attempt to pull T'Pol out." Malcolm finished what he was saying, looking around the group he tried to gage their reactions, seeing if they had any questions.

"Sounds like a good plan, great work Malcolm, I just hope this works." Archer stated, everyone else nodded in agreement.

"I want you to all return to your stations everybody, all we can do now is wait." Archer finished. The group scattered, and left to go to their respective jobs.

The next twenty one hours passed aboard Enterprise at a snails pace. At one point Travis had thought time had actually stopped. But now they were here, the spherical orb of the moon hanging in the darkness of deep space. It was agreed that Enterprise would stay a safe distance away, eliminating the small chance of alerting the Romulans. The away team - T'Pol's last hope were gearing up. Trip had wanted to be a part of the team, but Archer had to order him to remain aboard. Malcolm was the best man for the job, the engineer didn't have the skills needed. That was why now his chief Engineer was hovering around the bridge; his eyes locked on the view screen, awaiting news. Sovek on the other hand had been included on the mission, he had aided Malcolm in it's planning, and Archer knew he could prove to be useful on the actual mission. Having a long background in the military, and in particular covert missions.

"We're departing now Captain." Malcolm's voice came over the bridge speaker system.

"Good luck down their Lieutenant" Archer replied, the view screen showing shuttle pod two moving away from Enterprise.

"Acknowledged sir, Reed out." The shuttle moved further and further away, within minutes it had disappeared off of Enterprise's screen. The last image was of it entering the moon's atmosphere, it was all up to the team on shuttle pod now. Archer had all his faith in Malcolm, he knew the lieutenant would complete the mission, he had to!

On the interior of shuttle pod two Malcolm Reed re-checked the phaser that he held tightly in his grasp. Whenever possible he preferred to use this shuttle, shuttle pod one held some bad memories for him, and for Trip. It was the time they nearly suffocated and froze to death. An experience the security officer never wanted to repeat again.

Malcolm finished checking his phaser and looked around the small shuttle at it's other occupants, they too were preparing themselves, in their own way, for the mission that was about to commence. He grinned slightly as he heard Ensign Adams striking up a conversation with the Vulcan. The new Ensign had been recently transferred to Enterprise, and was a very fine officer. One of the reasons he had been included on this mission. It seemed his nervousness though was causing him to ramble. It appeared Sovek didn't mind though, perhaps he was just looking for a distraction as much as Malcolm was.

The Lieutenant closed his eyes as he felt the faint shudder of the shuttle, his stomach was doing somersaults. Clenching his jaw he willed himself to open his eyes. He wouldn't allow his travel sickness affect him. He looked out of the front view screen, the moon was more or less barren, large craters littered upon it's surface. He watched as the pilot slightly changed their trajectory, indicating that they were nearing the colony.

The security officer straightened up, and he quickly reiterated to the security personnel what they were to do; making sure they knew exactly what was expected. They all acknowledged with nods. The shuttle jerked slightly forwards as it came to rest on the surface. Reed immediately moved over to the shuttle's doors, and with his free hand he pushed it open. Cautiously he stepped out, his alert eyes scanning his surroundings. Waving to his team he instructed them to follow him out, they followed suit.

The five man team warily moved over to the east entrance of the colony, they took their time in locating any threats, now was not the time for recklessness. They arrived at their destination, the team positioned themselves around the entrance as Malcolm overrode the basic security lock. The metal door slid open, and the team slipped in. They arrived in a dimly lit, narrow corridor. It appeared luck was on their side today, they hadn't come into contact with anyone… yet.

Malcolm took out the scanner, which he held in his open palm. He pressed a combination of button's. Several small beeps indicated that it was carrying out it's task.

"There's one Vulcan bio-sign two hundred metres from our current position. I'm not picking up any other life signs in the vicinity." he informed his team.

The group acknowledged with a nod and they cautiously made their way down the passageway, weapons gripped tightly in hand. Soon they arrived at the end of the main passageway, from it led two more corridors. One led to T'Pol, the other to one of the main computer terminals.

"Sovek and Adams. I want you to go and download what you can from the computer systems. Try to find out anything useful." Malcolm ordered. It was true that their main mission was the rescue of a fellow officer, but a secondary plan had also been devised. They had an opportunity to find out more about the Romulan's and Malcolm for one was going to take full advantage of it. The Vulcan, and crewman nodded. They turned left and proceeded down the corridor. Malcolm and the remainder of his team turned right, towards T'Pol's position.

Malcolm looked down at his scanner. The readings indicated that he was nearing the Vulcan bio-sign. With every step he took the security officer became more and more on edge. All of this seemed too…easy. Considering the amount of trouble the Romulan's had gone too to lose Enterprise. He had at least expected some sort of resistance, but they had found none. The group walked slightly further and stopped at an almost unnoticeable grey door, which the scanner showed the bio-sign was behind. Malcolm indicated to one of the men to check for any obvious dangers. He wouldn't be surprised if this was all a trap and as soon as they pressed the button to enter a weapon or bomb would go off. His fears were unfounded as the officer shook his head indicating there were no threats.

"Ok, proceed with caution." he informed the others. The group opened the door, and stepped inside. It seemed Malcolm Reed's paranoia had been right today. He didn't even have time to react as a white light engulfed the group, they fell to the floor. Their weapons slipping from their grasps.

* * *

Sovek and Ensign Adams walked down their corridor. The Vulcan leading the way towards one of the main computer terminals. Even though these Romulan's had been here for a short amount of time, the computer could have held some sort of indication of what their plans were. It could have recorded an outgoing transmission, or recorded some other important data. The two shortly arrived at a large console, none of it's key system's were glowing, which indicating that it had no power, and was therefore not operational. 

The Vulcan moved towards it, and he leaned underneath, scanning the wires on it's interior. His fingers sorted through the numerous connections.

"Ensign I require your assistance."

At the sound of his rank the officer moved over towards the Vulcan.

"I believe there is a backup power supply located in the immediate area. I need you to find it and re route it to this console while I reconnect this console into the system." Sovek continued.

The Vulcan then instructed the young officer on what exactly he needed to do. Apprehensively the Ensign left, his footsteps quietening as he headed away from the Vulcan.

Sovek immediately began work, submerging himself into the console. His nimble fingers quickly reconnecting frayed wires. After several minutes, his mind had strayed to the others who were assigned to locate T'Pol. Had they found her yet? How was she?

"…. Mr Sovek, I suggest you come to my position." The sound of Ensign Adams voice cut into the Vulcan's thoughts. Sovek looked down at his communicator where the sound had originated. He flipped it open, and acknowledged the young officer.

"What is the problem Ensign?" The Vulcan asked. "Did you find the backup power?" he queried

"…Not exactly sir, I need you to come to my position." the officer responded.

Sovek's frowned slightly, the ensign sounded different… his voice was erratic, he almost sounded scared. Sovek stood from his position under the console and retraced the steps Adams had taken. The Vulcan soon arrived at the officers location, and found the reason for the officer's change in temperament. There in the middle of the room was Adams, only he was not alone. A weapon was being held at the base of his skull, as tears of fear streamed down his pale cheeks.

Sovek's eyes travelled from the officer and settled onto the face of the man holding him at gun point.

The Vulcan uttered a single word."…Telak"

* * *

TBC... 


	16. Chapter 16

Author's note

Sorry about the lack of updates. (Hangs head in shame) The muse has disappeared, but this fic WILL be finished, have no doubt about that. Thanks to all of those who reviewed, this chapters especially for you.

* * *

Chapter 16 

Sovek's hands flew to his belt, reaching desperately for his phase pistol, which was holstered there.

"Need I remind you that I have a weapon pointed at this human, Sovek" Telak stated, in a menacing tone. As if to emphasise his point he grasped Adams tighter, almost crushing the human's windpipe, suffocating him.

"Throw your weapon away." The Romulan ordered.

Sovek looked over to Adam's, and saw the officer attempting to suppress his salty tears. Training in the academy apparently 'prepared' its officers for situations like these. However actually experiencing one like this, actually having a gun pointed directly at your head, your life hanging in the balance. Well, training goes straight out of the window. Sovek would have liked to say he hadn't seen it before, hadn't seen grown men, even twice his size, crumble under gunpoint, but he had. And this wasn't going to be the last time he saw it, not when men like Telak still existed anyway.

"Shoot him", the muffled, garbled voice croaked. Sovek locked eyes with Adams, the owner of the voice. It seemed this human wasn't as feeble as Sovek had just perceived. "Shoot him, Sovek". Adams repeated, slightly louder this time, finding strength buried deep inside. Telak reacted to the humans outburst, and a cringing crack echoing through the room. Adams crooked arm fell to his side, several brakes clearly evident. Adams bit down hard on his bottom lip, preventing himself from crying out, and drawing coppery blood, which only worsened the gagging sensation in the confines of his throat.

"Throw your weapon away Sovek, or a few broken bones will be the least of your problems." Telak repeated slowly. No remorse evident at all.

Sovek considered his options, and had no choice but to comply. He dropped the weapon to the floor, a dull thud occurring upon impact, and then he kicked the phaser to the other side of the sparse room. Telak aimed his own weapon upon the Starfleet issue phaser, and fired. The Starfleet phaser erupted in flames and sparks, it was completely useless now.

"Let him go Telak, if you want someone to point a gun at use me." Sovek stated, trying to spare the Ensign any more injury.

The corners of Telak's mouth upturned slightly, "I see you haven't changed in that respect, always trying to save lesser life form's." he stated.

"As opposed to you, who just kills anything that moves." Sovek snapped back

"Each to their own", Telak smirked sickeningly back.

"If you want someone to threaten, threaten me. Your little vendetta is with me Telak, not the humans." Sovek stated, his voice steady.

The Romulan 'Vulcan' almost snarled, and with a swift movement, he knocked the young ensign to the ground, unconscious.

"Such a weak species, it is surprising they've survived this long." he muttered looking down upon the young Enterprise officer, a disgusted look on his face. His gaze returned to Sovek, his weapon trained on the Vulcan.

"Your daughter on the other hand was very… surprising, I enjoyed interrogating her."

At the mention of T'Pol, Sovek's features hardened, if looks could kill Telak would have been dead ten times over.

"What did you do to her?" Sovek snapped, his limited emotional control disappearing. He took a step towards the Romulan; in response Telak's finger clenched the weapon's trigger slightly harder.

"I see that Vulcan temper's rearing its ugly head" Telak mocked. "And there's no one but yourself to blame for her predicament."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Telak's features hardened, "You know exactly what I mean you eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse. You murdered them all, T'pol is merely paying the price for what you did." Telak swore.

Sovek's shoulders dropped, "Your government murdered your family Telak, not me."

Telak brought his weapon down upon Sovek's head. The force behind it immense. The Vulcan staggered, as the metal encountered his scull, but he didn't fall down. "You may have not pulled the trigger Vulcan, but they are dead because of you."

Sovek's jaw clenched. He knew what Telak had said was tainted by his anger, but it was in essence true. If Sovek had never encountered Telak's father, it would have been likely that Telak's family would have still been alive. Perhaps Telak would not have turned into the killer that stood before him, Sovek reflected. However, if he had never encountered Telak's father then he wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place. Telak's father had given him the information about the Empire's plans all those years ago. Given Sovek the data that had convinced him to give up his job, his normal life and most importantly his family, in order to prevent the Empire's domination plans.

"My father was a great man, before you tainted him. He turned his back on his planet because of you." Telak shot back.

"Yet, you still turned him in to your government."

"I did what was necessary for the Empire, just like my dealings with your daughter."

Sovek glared, "Your grudge against me is beyond childish. You couldn't kill me, so you're getting revenge through my daughter."

Telak's eyes smouldered, "You are just lucky she is alive, I should have killed her." Telak paused, "…But she did serve a few rather enjoyable purposes" he smirked, trying to bait the Vulcan, and it worked.

Sovek's control shattered and he lunged forward, his primal, Vulcan instinct taking over. Telak reacted without hesitation and fired his weapon, hitting Sovek directly in his shoulder. The Vulcan fell awkwardly towards the ground, grasping his arm.

Reacting immediately Sovek's gaze sought his attacker's whereabouts, Telak quickly came into view, and Sovek was on his feet in seconds. His military training kicking in. He threw a well-aimed fist at Telak's face, knocking the Romulan off balance, the weapon within his grasp falling towards the ground. Sovek was 'rewarded' with a kick to his stomach; he resisted the pain, and fought back. The two exchanged blows for the next few minutes, each equally matched, Telak having the slight upper hand with his younger age. Neither seemed to gain an advantage on the other, and so the fight continued. The gun had been knocked to the ground, and each had tried to reach for it, only to be stopped by the other.

Telak ducked as another blow was directed towards him, the Romulan rolled out of the way, his fingertips grasping his gun, and he moved towards Ensign Adams. He grabbed the human roughly, pulling him up, and using him as a shield. Sovek stopped in his tracks. Telak held the weapon trained on the Vulcan, greenish blood spilling from a split lip. Telak appeared to be fighting an inner battle over whether to pull the trigger. Sovek observed this with silent curiosity.

"Are you going to kill me then, Telak? Or can't you pull the trigger?" Sovek began, choosing to take a risk on what his instincts were telling him.

Telak's hand holding the weapon faltered, and Sovek's eyes widened in realisation. "You can't can you. You've been ordered to keep me alive."

Telak's face scrunched up into a frown, Sovek continued, "But then that begs the question why? What purpose can I serve? What do you want me for?"

"Enough" Telak shouted. "Orders change Sovek; I won't hesitate to kill you the second after you've served your purpose."

"So I do have a purpose then"

Telak clenched his jaw at his slip up. He managed to suppress the overwhelming urge to pull the weapons trigger. It would be so easy to kill him. Kill the man who had killed his family. He didn't care what Sovek could say, this Vulcan was the reason for their deaths.

"You will find out soon enough Sovek, but as for now I must depart." Telak finished. He held the weapon, once again toward the unconscious Ensign, and then roughly dragged him towards the door.

Sovek advanced slightly. "Why are you taking the human?" Sovek demanded.

"Collateral," Telak simply stated back, "Do not follow me Sovek, or this human dies".

"How do I know you won't kill him anyway?"

Telak smiled, "You don't, and I may be under orders not to kill you Sovek, but what about these humans?"

Sovek clenched his jaw, he worked out his chances. He could take down Telak, but the probability that Adams would get shot was too high. If he did anything Adams would likely die, and if he did not Telak would get away, and the young Ensign's future would be uncertain. That was the downside of being the stereotypical 'good guy' he, unlike the Romulan was concerned about other people's lives, and that was Sovek's main weakness. That was the main reason why he had been captured before; his concern for others had been exploited.

"You have my word that I will remain here". Sovek stated, almost painfully.

Telak didn't acknowledge, instead he roughly dragged the Ensign out of the room they were in. The Romulan turned and fired his weapon at the door controls, where they were engulfed in sparks. Telak knew that the broken door controls would only keep Sovek busy for several minutes, but that was the reason he a hostage. He began to quickly progress down the corridor.

Meanwhile inside Sovek had immediately moved to the door controls, he had removed the outer casing and was fiddling with several wires, some were charred, but mostly salvageable. As expected, the door slid open with a hiss after a few minutes of tampering. Sovek waged an internal battle, as he stared at the corridor outside, which was almost mocking him. He knew that if there was any chance to save the young Ensign he would have to remain here, but he knew he would regret letting a monster like Telak go free.

Sovek resolved that he would deal with the consequences of letting the Romulan go later. He looked around the room, and spotted his communicator, that unlike his phaser was operational. He picked it up, and flipped it open. "Mr Reed, please respond." The Vulcan awaited a response, after several seconds he tried again. "Mr Reed, Please respond" Once again, he received no answer. He tried to signal Enterprise, but he knew it was in vain. They had kept their distance to avoid detection, and that meant they were out of communications range. Sovek clenched his jaw in frustration, it seemed nothing was going to his advantage today.

He paced around the small room, his options were limited. He needed to find the other half of the away team, ensure they were in no danger, but most importantly find T'Pol. It was logical to assume that the away team had come into some trouble, and that was the reason they weren't responding. Telak no doubt had something to do with their current situation.

_What purpose does the Empire need me alive for? _The lone thought echoed through Sovek's consciousness. He frowned; it was a logical question to ask. What purpose was he being kept alive for? His mind reasoned. Whatever the reason though he would have to dwell on it later, he needed complete focus if he was going to get everyone off this base alive. A small rumbling shook the room; Sovek's superior senses became alert.

The Vulcan stopped in mid-stride, and moved towards the door. Running into the corridor, he turned down the opposite hallway from the one the Romulan had travelled down previously. He moved quickly, reaching a computer console, which glowed dimly. This, unlike the majority of the bases systems was operational. He scanned the screen, and his suspicions were confirmed, the rumbling he had heard only moments before had been a shuttle pod taking off. Shuttle pod two from Enterprise to be exact. Sovek felt a very un-Vulcan surge of anger course through his veins; Telak had just flown off with their only way off this base. The away team were trapped, with no way to contact Enterprise.

* * *

Telak reclined in the Starfleet issue chair, located aboard shuttle pod two. He briefly looked over his shoulder towards the back of the craft. Ensign Adams had regained consciousness several minutes ago, and was cradling his broken arm. A purple colouring surrounding the break, and several small pools of blood were seeping from it. Telak had to suppress every instinct in his being not to kill the snivelling little life form. Like Sovek, who apparently was needed alive, Telak had also been ordered not to kill any of the humans; it seemed it didn't fit with his superiors plans… yet. 

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small handheld contraption. Connecting it into the shuttles systems a small beeping left the small device, indicating it was active. Leaning over the console nearest to him Telak began pressing several commands, his fingers flying over the buttons. Finishing he sat back, appearing to be waiting for something.

Aboard Enterprise, the bridge crew were in a similar position, waiting for any news. Any word from the away team. The silence, which had befallen the bridge staff, was almost deafening. Each was attempting to focus on work, but unsurprisingly their attention was elsewhere. Hoshi didn't even have work to offer a slight distraction. Enterprise had not encountered a new species in ages, ergo no new languages. She had also recently updated all the communication systems so they did not need adjusting or altering now. Therefore, she was just left to sit, earpiece on, listening to static, and awaiting a signal. Her mind was drifting, but was quickly pulled back to reality as different tones pitched through the static. She frowned, her fingers moving across the computer keyboard, attempting to clear up the signal. After several minutes she was no closer to finding out what the noise she was hearing was. Many other people would have dismissed the sound as background noise, but Hoshi was not one of them. The pattern of the signal was too regular, too organised for just background interference. She searched her mind for some other way to clear up the signal, and pressed another sequences of keys. She listened again to her earpiece, her eyes widened in shock as she listened….

* * *

To be continued... (Yes, i know i'm evil!) 

I will hope to get the next chapter up within a few days, at most a week, (hopefully!). There's only a few chapters left before the end of this fic, but there will be a sequel! I haven't started writing it yet, but hopefully the muse will return with a vengeance. The sequel will explore a lot of the issue's that haven't been addressed in this fic, or completely answered. The backstory of Sovek and Telak will also be explored more. I referenced this aspect slightly in this chapter, and hopefully it wasn't that confusing for now. Oh, and please review, I may even update faster. There's nothing more inspiring than a positive review!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

Hoshi turned in her chair, to face the Captain. Almost sensing his communications officers change in mood Archer looked over to her station, where their eyes met. Hoshi's facial expressions showed that of urgency, and perhaps even fear. However, not a fear for her safety, it was a fear for the away team. A fear of the implications of the message she had just intercepted. "Captain, it's the Romulans, they're here", she began.

The second those six single words registered in the captains consciousness he began to act. "Raise weapons and shields," he ordered of the officer operating Malcolm's post.

"Belay that order," Hoshi instructed, interrupting her Captain, much to the surprise of the bridge crew. Archer opened his mouth to respond, but Hoshi continued, blushing slightly at her outburst. "Captain, the Romulan's don't know, that we know they're here. If we raise shields we'll give away our advantage".

Archer nodded in understanding, a slight pang of foolishness hitting him. He had reacted on instinct, without hearing all the facts. A mistake that could have cost lives. Hoshi's use of tactics had surprised him though. It seemed she had been spending too much time with a certain chief security officer.

"What did you pick up on communications Hoshi?" Archer questioned, wanting more facts about the situation Enterprise had just found themselves within.

"Something you won't like sir. The signal was in the lower band frequencies, meaning it was almost undetectable. It was sending a message to a Romulan ship, which is very close to our position."

"It must be cloaked?" Archer interrupted, speaking to no one in particular.

"The message was to rendezvous at chosen co-ordinates" Hoshi dictated, "but that's not the worst part sir, the message came from shuttle pod two."

"Shuttle pod two?…Are you sure?" Archer responded, apprehension tinged his voice.

"I'm sure sir," she replied, the same uncertainty pitched within her own voice.

Archer became silent for several seconds, mulling over what he could possibly do. The message came from shuttle pod two, and that could only mean one thing - the away team had been compromised. Perhaps they had even been killed, Archer closed his eyes. He would not allow himself to think of that possibility. Opening his eyes, he turned to Sato, a commanding, confident look within his eyes. He needed to set an example for his officers, if he showed that he was nervous about this situation he would put them at unease, and he needed everyone at their best. Especially because of what was about to happen next. "Hoshi, hail shuttle pod two"

" Sir?" She questioned, her confusion evident.

"I want to know who I'm dealing with." Archer responded.

Hoshi looked unsure but followed Archer instructions, "Yes sir…Enterprise to shuttle pod two, please respond." She spoke into the comm.

Telak clenched his jaw, as the speaker system around him became alive. A female's voice spewing from the comm. system, attempting to get a response from the vessel he had commandeered. He had had enough of human's to last him a lifetime, the sooner they were disposed of the better. He had initially hoped that he would have time to transport to the Romulan vessel, which he had contacted before, without involving Enterprise. It seemed he had been wrong.

The Romulan turned around, indicating to Ensign Adams to come forward. "Speak with your vessel, tell them nothing, or I will kill you." he simply stated.

Adams nervously turned to the com panel, "This is Ensign Adams, Enterprise".

"Adams? Where is Lieutenant Reed?" Archer questioned.

"The Lieutenant is busy at the moment sir" Adams responded, looking towards his captor. This was not what he signed up for when he joined Enterprise, he had thought he would be exploring, occasionally getting into a fire fight, but not this. This had been his first away mission upon Enterprise; he had only joined the ship a few months ago, along with the other new recruits. He didn't want to die like this!

"Are you Ok Ensign? What's going on?"

Adams looked at the Romulan, while torrents of emotion cascaded inside of him. He had overcome the fear he had initially felt, but now all he felt was anger. The Romulan had firstly tortured Enterprise's science officer, the one Vulcan, other than Sovek, that he actually liked! Telak had then disabled the rest of the away team, Adams didn't know how, but the Romulan would have had to have done something in order to have managed to take the shuttle without a lot of opposition. He also guessed that he had killed Sovek, if the hatred the Romulan held in his voice, when he spoke with the Vulcan was anything to go by. Adams would be damned if he let anything else happen to his friends, and his comrades.

Telak grasped his weapon tighter, the barrel pointing directly to the human's neck, and he looked very trigger-happy. Adams closed his eyes. A twinge of regret passing through his being, he didn't want it to end like this. But if he had to do this, to save Enterprise, then so be it…. "Captain, the away team are still on the surface, this shuttle has been taken over, you ne……" he didn't finish as he was hit in the chest, and then once again. His torso jerked with each hit, and he fell towards the ground. A painful gasp escaping his lips, before he fell to the floor, where his limp body impacted the hard metal floor.

"Adams!" Archer shouted.

"I'm afraid he can't respond Captain," The uncompassionate voice of Telak sounded, Archer recognising it instantly from the video recording.

"What have you done to my away team!" Archer demanded.

"They are safe for now Captain; however that may not be the case for long."

"What did you do?"

"There is a bomb on the base capable of destroying the entire facility three times over. I suggest you hurry Captain, as they have no other way off of the surface."

Archer looked over to the officer manning T'Pol's science station, "Can you verify that?" he asked.

T'Pol's replacement shook her head "We're too far away, I can't scan the interior of the shuttle either, it's using the same blocking technique used on the Tellarite vessel."

Archer balled his hands into fists. Telak could be bluffing, using a fake bomb to lure Enterprise away giving him time to escape. But what if he was right?

"Travis set a course for the base, as fast as you can take us."

"Yes sir" the boomer replied, a grim atmosphere overtaking the bridge crew.

Archer nodded, almost reluctantly to Hoshi to cut the connection with the shuttle pod. He didn't have time to get the shuttle back, and get to the base in time if a bomb was to go off. It was all about priorities, and the away team was his. He hated the fact that he was leaving a potentially injured or dead crewmember aboard the shuttle with the Romulan, but he had no choice.

* * *

Archer paced around the bridge, and he stopped by his chief Engineer. Trip had been quiet since the away team had left, not even talking when the Romulan threat had arose. He didn't blame him, what would he do in his position? 

The minutes drew on as Enterprise neared the base, and with each second that passed Telak was getting further and further away. Archer would bet anything he owned that he, and the rest of Enterprise had not seen the last of that particular Romulan.

"Sir we're getting scans from the surface" The sudden voice of the Ensign at the science station interrupted Archer's thoughts.

"…And?" He questioned, almost afraid of the answer.

"There appears to be three strong human life signs, and two Vulcan life signs, one weak."

"What about the bomb"

"Scans show no explosive devices"…

A sickening feeling passed through the entire bridge crew, they had been played. Telak by now would have had enough time to escape. Enterprise was normally used to coming out on top, this time had been different. A stark reminder of just how much of a threat the Romulan's actually were.

"Permission to take a shuttle down to the surface Cap'n" Trip spoke first.

Archer looked towards his chief engineer; the priority of this mission had always been about saving T'Pol. Other unforeseen consequences had resulted from this mission, but that was still the priority. Archer looked at Trip; he had never seen such a determined look upon the engineers face. "Bring them back home Trip", Archer ordered, complete faith in his friend.

Trip nodded, and practically ran off the bridge towards the shuttle bay. The second he arrived he activated shuttle pod one, and was soon taking off, a member of Malcolm's security team accompanying him for added protection. They left Enterprise in record time, and moved through the vacuum of space, veering towards the moon at high speeds, and descending down towards the base held upon the celestial body below.

Trip flew the shuttle through the moon's atmosphere with accuracy and skill, he adjusted his heading as he became closer, taking the shuttle to where the other craft had originally landed, and landed the pod he was piloting. Standing up before the craft had even come to a complete stop, Trip was already moving to the exit. He willingly took the pistol the security officer handed him, and together they both left the shuttle. The security officer was out first, scanning the area, ensuring it was safe for them to progress. Declaring it clear the two both cautiously, and quickly jogged towards the east entrance, following the steps the away team had taken earlier today.

Trip stopped at the entrance, the door slightly ajar. Using his two strong hands, he pushed it completely open so they could pass through. Taking several steps forward he was suddenly thrown into the wall nearest him. Two hands gripping his neck, he struggled for air. However just as quickly as he was grabbed, he was dropped. Trip fell to the floor gasping for air; he looked up and was met with the familiar face of Sovek.

"I apologise Mr Tucker, I believed you were someone else." Sovek stated, regret apparent in his features.

Trip rubbed his neck, and waved the security officer, who still held a phaser towards Sovek, off. "It's Ok, I'm fine…I think." Trip answered and grasped onto Sovek's outstretched hand, standing up. "Do you know where the others are?" he asked.

"I was on my way there right now, but when I heard a shuttle land I thought the worst."

Trip nodded, "In that case you can lead the way".

Sovek inclined his head in acknowledgment, "Did you encounter the other shuttle pod on your way here?"

Trip chewed his bottom lip, thinking how to respond. "Enterprise picked up a transmission from Telak, he was contacting the Romulans. He shot Adams, soon after we contacted the shuttle, and then told the Cap'n that there was a bomb on this base."

Sovek raised his eyebrow, "Am I right to assume that he escaped".

"Unfortunately" Trip responded, his pace picking up as they neared the away team's whereabouts.

The three soon arrived at an almost unnoticeable grey door. "You're sure they're in there"

"Indeed" The Vulcan replied

Trip nodded and pressed the door controls; he gripped his phaser tightly in hand and moved in.

Trip's eyes scanned the room, and his heart began beating faster as he saw the bodies of the away team sprawled upon the floor. Trip apprehensively moved towards Malcolm and felt for a pulse. A pool of crimson blood flowed freely down from the security officer's nose. Flecks of his blood leaking onto, and staining the floor. The engineer released a breath, one that he hadn't even realised he was holding, as he felt a strong pulse underneath his fingers. He then moved towards the rest of the away team, they too had strong heartbeats.

"I can not find any injuries; it appears they are just all unconscious. It is logical to assume a stun grenade was involved." Sovek stated.

Trip didn't hear what Sovek said, the familiar tingling he usually felt when T'Pol was around resurfaced.

Trip stood up, his legs almost moving of their own accord in a direction towards the back of the room. Moving quickly he found another door, which was adjourning to the room he was in. His hand gripped the handle, and he pushed it open….


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for all the great reviews! 

* * *

Chapter 18 

Trip's pupils instantly widened, responding to the darkened room he had just stepped into. He squinted slightly, and his fingers fumbled along the walls nearby, attempting to find a light switch. Clicking a button the room suddenly became illuminated in artificial light, and Trip could now see clearly. However, a part of him wished he couldn't. There in the far corner lay T'Pol, her form lay motionless and Trip feared the worse.

The engineer moved over to her, quicker than he had every moved in his life. He knelt down, his hand meeting a sticky green liquid - blood. He lifted his hand to her face, and with shaking fingers he attempted to find a pulse. After a few seconds of total panic Trip finally felt the gentle drum of a heartbeat. It was weak, but it was there. '_Thank you God',_ he whispered under his breath.

Trip leaned in closer; bring T'Pol's body closer to his, as if to protect her from further harm. "T'Pol" he whispered, stroking her battered and bruised face. "T'Pol, can you hear me?" he awaited a response but found none. He began to get worried, and called her name again, with a higher volume this time. "T'Pol? Please darl'n, we've got you, you're safe now. Please say something." he cried, tears of fear and anger stinging his eyes. He hugged her to him, her face becoming buried in his shoulder, as he cradled her towards him.

"Trip?" she whispered into his ear, in an almost non-existent voice.

Trip moved so he could see her face, his blue eyes met brown. "Oh God, I thought I'd lost you. I was so scared that I'd never see you again, If I ever get my hands on those son of a bitch Romulans I…" Trip began to ramble, and T'Pol placed a slender finger upon his lips to stop him.

"I missed you too T'hy'la, I knew you would come for me…" she muttered, her eyes closing as she said the words, her head falling against his shoulder once again as she passed out. However now she was at peace, knowing that now she was completely safe for the first time in weeks.

Trip cradled her head safely against him, as his hands snaked under her form and picked her up. He stood with her in his arms. She was so light; it took almost no effort to carry her. She wasn't exactly heavy before, but this was ridiculous.

Trip moved back into the room he originally came from. Sovek looked up towards him, his eyes travelling to the figure Trip held in his grasp. The Vulcan's eyes sought the engineers, a silent question passing between the two. Trip nodded slightly, indicating that T'Pol was alive. Sovek took a few steps towards them, his steps faltering slightly as he saw the battered form of his daughter.

"How is she?" Sovek asked

"She was conscious a minute ago…barely, but she did remember who I was and what had happened. We need to get her to Phlox as soon as possible though."

"..This is all my fault"

Trip frowned, but didn't comment on what Sovek had just said. He would ask the Vulcan later, his priority was getting T'pol back to Enterprise.

Sovek continued. "I will pilot the shuttle while you take care of T'Pol. There is insufficient space for all the members of the away team, however thankfully they are just unconscious and are in no danger, so should be fine."

Trip nodded, and ordered the security officer, who had accompanied him down to remain here, and with that; Sovek, Trip, and T'Pol departed.

The three arrived at the base's east entrance in record time. Trip almost running all the way there, but Sovek didn't protest. As they arrived at their shuttle Trip ducked inside, and carefully placed T'Pol down. Sovek meanwhile moved to the controls, and fired up the engines. Within minutes the group were flying, and entering the vacuum of space.

Sovek manoeuvred the small vessel towards the larger warp five vessel, sending a message minutes before they arrived, alerting them to their situation and to open the docking ports. The warp vessel complied, and the Captain ordered Doctor Phlox to stand by.

* * *

Shuttle pod one flew through the outer doors of the shuttle bay, and landed with a dull thud. Trip was already up on his feet, closely followed by Sovek. The two carefully manoeuvred T'Pol safely out of the pod. They were met by Doctor Phlox, and another medical officer, who were standing next to a stretcher. Ready to carry T'Pol the rest of the way to sickbay. Trip obliged and placed her safely down upon it, he was slightly apprehensive to let her go, but he knew she would be in good hands with Phlox. 

The second Trip did place T'Pol down, Phlox was on the move. The Denoblian moving quickly back to sickbay, whilst running a hand scanner down her body. Ever so often his face would take on a rather pronounced frown, which only made Trip more nervous.

The group passed through the sliding doors of Sickbay, Captain Archer was already there and waiting for them. Phlox didn't even acknowledge him; instead he went into action immediately, spouting off several commands to the medical officers under his command. Within minutes T'Pol was having a full body scan, whilst the Doctor analysed the readings scrawling across the screen.

"Doctor is there anything you can…" Archer began, but was soon cut off by Phlox,

"I can't tell you anything until I know for sure myself. My scans will take awhile, I suggest you go and get some food or a drink, so that…" Phlox didn't even finish his sentence as the three men sat down on the chairs closest to them. They each had a stubborn look etched upon their faces. Phlox shook his head; it seemed he wouldn't be getting rid of them for some time. A testament to how much T'Pol had affected those around her, four years ago T'Pol and the two humans hadn't seen eye to eye on anything, disagreement after disagreement came, but now they were at her bedside, not to be moved by anything less than a total, life-threatening emergency.

Phlox turned back to the computer screen as more information flew across the monitor. A sickening feeling erupted in his stomach at the thought of how much the young Vulcan had been through. How someone could inflict so much pain on another living being was beyond him. A surge of anger coursed through the normally pacifistic Doctor, how he would like to introduce this Telak to the more dangerous creatures in his menagerie.

* * *

Several hours had passed aboard Enterprise since T'Pol had been brought aboard. During that time Ensign Mayweather had taken shuttle pod one back down to the surface and retrieved the rest of the away team. Thankfully there had been no serious injures sustained, the worst being a particularly bad headache reported by Malcolm Reed. However, like always that still hadn't stopped the security officer from going back to work immediately after. The last the Captain had heard was that he was attempting to locate the lost shuttle pod, a task Archer knew he would accomplish. 

It may have only been a few hours, which had gone by aboard the Earth ship, but to Trip, Sovek, and the Captain, it seemed more like several days had passed. And they were still sitting in the same positions they had been hours before, still awaiting news about T'Pol's condition, still hoping for the best.

Doctor Phlox finally moved over to them, he had just spent hours patching T'Pol up, and trying to make her as comfortable as possible. He had done all he could, it would be up to her now. The Denoblian walked over to the three, and the group stood up.

"How bad is she Doc?" Trip queried, anxiety apparent in his voice.

"She has sustained many different injuries all over her body, which shows severe torture." The humans winced at the doctor's bluntness.

"She also has several broken bones, severe malnutrition, blood loss and a major concussion, along with a chemically induced blindness, all of which I am trying to remedy."

"Bastards" Trip muttered, followed by a string of other, more colourful curses.

"Will she recover Doctor?" Sovek asked

"I believe so. Physically she will heal, but mentally I am unsure, she has suffered through a great deal. Time will tell though." Phlox finished.

The three nodded in understanding. Sovek unfortunately having his own personal knowledge and experience with that particular subject. The Vulcan had suffered through similar situations to his daughter, and being tortured wasn't a new concept to this Vulcan. In truth he still hadn't completely recovered from his time spent with the Romulans. But there was one main difference between his, and his daughters situation. One that would help T'pol, she had something he never had, never could have; friends. People, who would help her through her hard time, help her to recover.

"…Hoshi to Captain Archer" the voice of the young communications officer cut through sickbay, interrupting Sovek's musings.

Archer moved over to the com, "Archer here, what is it Hoshi?"

"You are needed on the bridge sir; Enterprise has located the missing shuttle pod".

"I'm on my way Hoshi, Archer out." The Captain muttered a quick goodbye, moving to step out of Sickbay.

"May I join you Captain?" Sovek asked, and Archer nodded in agreement. The two left immediately after. Sovek's hearing however picked up the Commanders request to see T'Pol, and Phlox agreeing to it. T'Pol was in good hands Sovek acknowledged, he would see his daughter when he knew Telak's situation.

The Captain, and the Vulcan arrived on the bridge. Lieutenant Reed was back at his post, despite the incident that had occurred upon the surface .Archer had actually given him some time off to rest, but unsurprisingly the security officer had refused. Instead, he had gone immediately back to work, and had helped to locate Enterprise's missing shuttlecraft.

"What's our situation?" Archer asked Malcolm.

"Enterprises' sensor's located the shuttle nearing the upper atmosphere of a local gas giant. It's coming in too fast and will burn up within twenty-seven minutes. I hope you don't mind sir but I took the authority of moving Enterprise on an intercept course." Malcolm related.

Archer nodded, "Good work Lieutenant, what's our ETA?"

"We're cutting it close captain, but we should arrive a few minutes before the shuttle reaches a critical state."

Sovek moved over to the science station, and relieved the Ensign operating it. "It appears that there is one weak bio-sign"

"Can you tell the species of the bio sign?"

"There is some background interference from the planet, but it from a natural, not artificial source. I will attempt to phase it out." Sovek's fingers moved over his console. "…It is human, Captain." he related, "It appears Telak transferred to the Romulan vessel he signalled."

Archer nodded, with any luck this mission would pass with no loss of life. He had truly thought the Ensign who had been taken as a hostage had been killed, but thankfully, he appeared to have been wrong. Maybe their luck was changing for the better.

"Is there any way we could detect the cloaked ship?"

Sovek shook his head, "if we had more information about it, then it is a possibility but we do not know enough."

Archer clenched his jaw, a powerful enemy, who was apparently set upon war was one thing, but an invisible enemy was another. They could creep up on Earth, and they wouldn't be any the wiser. The Xindi conflict was still fresh in everyone's minds, a war that should never have happened. It was an incident no one wanted to ever repeat again. It seemed the Romulans had a different stance on the matter.

"Why didn't they just fire upon the shuttle, and destroy it Captain?" Hoshi asked.

"It would be considered an act of war against Earth, it perhaps didn't fit with their plans", Malcolm answered instead.

The communications officer nodded in understanding, "But wouldn't kidnapping and torture, also constitute an act of war?"

Malcolm opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Archer, "I sure as hell think of it as exactly that. Whether Starfleet and the Vulcan's think of it that way will remain to be seen," he answered truthfully.

A beeping upon Travis' console interrupted their conversation. "We've arrived Captain," Mayweather stated.

Malcolm looked down at his station, "Shall I deploy the grappler Captain?" the Englishman asked.

"Go ahead Malcolm"

Reed's fingers danced upon the keyboard; soon the grappler was shooting out of Enterprise's port bow, flying towards shuttle pod two.

"….We've got it Captain, I'm towing it into the shuttle bay."

"Hoshi, contact Sickbay have them prepared for a casualty." Archer spoke to the Ensign, who acknowledged. "Malcolm, I want you there when it's opened, God knows what surprise the Romulans could have left us," he continued.

Reed nodded, and stood up. "I'll keep you updated Captain," with that he stood up and left the bridge.

* * *

Malcolm moved quickly thought the corridors of Enterprise, his head was still pounding from the stun grenade, but a little pain had never stopped him from doing his job. He also couldn't stop feeling the nagging emotion of guilt. He knew it wasn't his fault; the events that had transpired upon the surface. However, he was the _chief_security officer. He should have checked the area better, he should have done more. Perhaps if he hadn't been knocked out then Telak wouldn't have escaped, or a junior officer wouldn't have been put at risk. It was his mission, he was in charge of it and he would take full responsibility for the consequences. 

He reached the launch bay within a matter of minutes, and walked inside. Two of his men were already there, but had not opened the vessels' doors. Malcolm moved to the shuttle, gladly taking a weapon passed to him by one of his men. You couldn't be more careful in a situation like this. Reaching over to the left of the doors, he pressed the door controls and the door opened.

He grasped the phaser tightly and moved inside, there appeared to be no danger, and like the scans showed; no sign of the Romulan. He looked down and his eyes found the crimson hue of blood. He followed the slight trail with his eyes, and in the very back of the pod he found Adams. Malcolm reacted immediately, urging the medical officer, who had arrived behind him to help the young officer.

Stepping out of the pod Malcolm moved over to the two security personnel. "I want you to remain here, no one but me has access to the vessel, am I clear?" he ordered. To which they both answered with crisp "Yes, sir's"

Behind him, Adams began to be wheeled away on a stretched towards sickbay. Malcolm picked up his pace and followed, soon stepping through sickbay's doors. He arrived and saw Phlox, once again spring into action and spouting off numerous bits of medical jargon, having no idea what it meant, Malcolm decided to leave the Doctor to do his job and moved over towards T'Pol's bed. He didn't have a chance to see her earlier, the situation with the missing shuttle taking his full attention.

Moving around the curtain he found Trip sitting next to her and holding tightly onto her hand. The engineer looked up, and offered Malcolm an empty smile.

"How is she?"

"Doc said she'll recover, but she's not out of the woods yet." The hollow voice of Trip responded. "She's hasn't regained consciousness yet, and Doc's getting kind of worried.

Malcolm nodded sadly, feeling complete empathy for his friend. Trip had often denied a relationship with T'Pol, but Malcolm was not stupid. He had never seen Trip like this before, Trip loved her, and anyone with eyes could see it.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Malcolm stated, offering the engineer some of the hope he needed.

"She's too stubborn to die like this" Trip grinned in response, his smile failing to reach his eyes.

Malcolm and Trip lapsed into silence, neither feeling the need to engage in another conversation. After a few minutes, Malcolm excused himself and moved over to Phlox.

"How's Adams?"

Phlox looked up from the padd he was reading, "he was shot two times with an energy rifle, and has sustained severe damage. However, I have high hopes of a complete recovery. He received medical attention just in time, any longer and his injuries would have been fatal, he answered the chief security officer truthfully.

Malcolm let out the breath he was holding, "That's great Phlox, I should probably go now though. I've got shuttle pod two to analyse."

The Denoblian smiled, and offered a quick goodbye, with that Malcolm left sickbay, heading back to the launch bay.

Arriving at the shuttle bay, Malcolm relieved the two security officers, and stepped inside shuttle bay two. He took a seat by the main console, and began attempting to recover any data on the shuttle's last occupants. He began by entering several codes into the shuttles computer system. The tampering of one of the shuttles during the Terra Prime incident had almost led to a fatal accident, and because of that he had added several new security measures. Some of them had of course been overwritten, allowing Telak full use of the systems, but the more complex ones had remained hidden from the Romulan.

Malcolm in the previous month had installed a specific security measure into each of the shuttles. A hidden system, which only a handful of people knew about. It's job, to record any data, which was believed to have been destroyed. Malcolm activated the program, and the computer began to reconstitute all of the previously 'deleted' data. He sat back and after a few minutes, the program had compiled everything, which Telak had attempted, and thought he had erased forever.

An outgoing message Telak had sent grabbed Malcolm's attention, and looking around to ensure he was alone. Malcolm pressed play. The message was audio only, but that was good enough.

Static shot through the shuttles speakers, and then a voice Malcolm didn't recognise cut in.

"_Did Enterprise recover the Vulcan_?" The deep voice asked.

"_Yes, the humans did as we predicted" _The familiar voice of Telak answered. Malcolm's eyes widened, he, and Enterprise had been set up!

"_Did you carry out stage one?" _

"_It went as expected. The foolish Humans and Vulcan's don't even realise what we've done. We will know soon how successful it was. "_

"_Excellent, and the subject retains no memory of what happened?"_

"_None, the subject will soon be back aboard Enterprise. We have the advantage we have been looking for. The Human threat will soon be eliminated." _Telak paused an amused tone to his voice. _"…And all because of one weak being….."_

The recording terminated, and Malcolm was left sitting in shock. Enterprise had played into the Romulan's hands! How could he have been so stupid? From the start they had been set up. His mind played over all the events that had transpired: Sovek had arrived with co-ordinates to a Romulan outpost; they could have killed him while he was in the escape pod, but left him with potentially damaging information… Unless they wanted Enterprise to go there.

Then there was the Tellarite Vessel, no way was that a coincidence. They had always planned to take someone, perhaps it had all been set up so they could take T'Pol.

And then there was how they found the base T'Pol had been recovered from. They would never have found it without Kolot's help. He was their alien informant, who Malcolm had always thought seemed just too well informed. After all, who has schematics for an entire abandoned base stored on their computer? Malcolm was kicking himself for not seeing it before.

He reached over and downloaded the message onto a padd, and then encrypted the data with the highest setting possible. Even Hoshi would have trouble cracking this encryption. He then erased the message on the shuttles main systems, and from his security measures hard drive, systematically wiping the evidence that it existed away for good. From what he had heard the Romulan's had infiltrated Enterprise, but who the subject was, which they referred to, Malcolm wasn't sure. But he had an advantage; the Romulans didn't know he knew. He could use this to find out more about their plans, more about them. They had played him, now it was his turn….

….To be continued in **Masquerade**.

* * *

Wow, and that concludes revelations. I have had so much fun writing this, I never thought it would have been so well recieved! I would like to thank everyone who has continued to read this fic, and especially those who took the time to review. 

OK, I'm going to be completly honest with you now, I haven't even started writing the sequel yet, but I do have it partially planned out. That being said i'm not sure when it will be published, but i'll try to get it out as soon as possible. I'd appreciate your final thoughts on this fic, and if anyone has any suggestions for what they would like to read in the sequel I'm all ears!


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